Bukka Hut: Late Martins co-founded but wasn’t part of daily operation

The management of Bukka Hut says the late Laolu Martins was a “minority shareholder and a valued supporter” of the Lagos-based fast food chain.

Martins passed away on September 27. The circumstances surrounding his death are yet to be revealed.

Announcing his death, the bereaved family described Martins as “one of the co-founders” of Bukka Hut — with several media platforms referring to the deceased as the founder.

But in a successive statement, Bukka Hut raised the alarm about what it described as “misrepresentations” in the media that Martins owned the fast food chain.

It said Rasheed Jaiyeola, the company’s majority shareholder, founded the restaurant in 2011 and is the CEO.

The company disclosed that Jaiyeola built the business from one outlet in August 2011 to 24 outlets.

It said Bukka Hut is run and operated solely by Jaiyeola with the support of the senior management team.

The company added that the late Olaolu was a” minority shareholder and a valued supporter” who was not involved in the day-to-day operations of Bukka Hut.

“It is unfortunate that we are also constrained to address the gross misrepresentation of verifiable facts making the rounds on various social media platforms at this time,” the company said.

“While we urge all media platforms to refrain from disseminating unverified and inaccurate information, we also enjoin members of the public to kindly respect the privacy of the Martins family at this very difficult time.”