Fashion stylist known simply as Ejiro has broken her silence, dismissing claims that she was missing, kidnapped or manipulated into abandoning her life.
The designer, who resurfaced online on Thursday, explained in an Instagram video that her disappearance was voluntary and had nothing to do with coercion or foul play as widely speculated.
“I am actually Ejiro, the most talked about Ejiro online currently, the acclaimed missing lady, and I am here to talk about the alleged kidnapping, debt, cajole, and all that people have been talking about,” she said.
“First off, I am alive and well, I was never kidnapped, cajoled, or hypnotised like some people said. I am actually addressing this a bit late because Instagram disabled my account, so I have been off social media for a while.”
Concerns about Ejiro’s well-being were first raised by entrepreneur Nkechi Harry-Ngonadi, who took to social media to announce that the stylist had allegedly joined a special prayer group, Abba’s Heart Ministry, closed her business, sold off her belongings and disappeared without informing anyone.
Ejiro said she only became aware of the public search recently, after regaining access to social media. She denied all claims of brainwashing, adding that her decision to withdraw was due to personal struggles.
“There is nothing wrong with me, I am not missing. My old line was actually up until January 4, my family could reach me whenever they could. I just distanced myself from them because I wanted to be alone due to family issues.
“I do not want to bring most of them here, and personal issues with myself. So, distancing myself from my family, I do not see it as a big deal.”
She recalled reuniting briefly with her family at her sister’s store in Abuja earlier this year, which led to several confrontations and even police involvement.
“They harassed my friends, it was a lot of things that we ended up in three police stations and every police station we went throughout the case said first off I am not a child, I am an adult over 18 years and I can do whatever I want to do and there is no case there,” she narrated.
Ejiro also pushed back against claims that the founder of the prayer group, Prophet Joy Solomon, pressured her into shutting down her fashion business.
According to her, it was a personal decision stemming from a period of mental and emotional stress.
“I shut down my own business, my own homegrown business. A business I grew by myself, not with my father’s money or my mother’s money. I grew the business for almost eight years, and I was having a lot of psychological breakdowns. And I decided to take a step back from my own business, and now they are accusing Prophet Joy of telling me to shut down my business, and I am surprised.”
Ejiro added that she had explained her decision to take a break to her siblings, but insisted she owed no one any explanation.
“It is my own business, I can decide what to do with it. Pastor Enoh Jerry can testify, I was having a breakdown. It was a milestone birthday for me, and I was having a breakdown. I knew I had to take a step down from that job.”
She said she felt humiliated by the public spectacle surrounding her name, adding that while speaking up might not stop false narratives, she felt the need to set the record straight.
“For me, I feel very exposed, embarrassed, disgraced. I cannot believe that I am all over the internet, and if one has to be famous for this, missing, and I am surprised with all the rubbish they have said, and I know that even coming live to talk about this would not clarify anything.
“Because people would still go about saying what they want to say, but I just needed to clarify that I am alive and well, not cajoled by anybody, not hypnotised. What else have they said? Because I just joined social media, and I have seen all sorts. Seriously, at this point, I think that people are doing me dirty. This is not fair.”
She concluded by stating that while her absence may have triggered panic, the accusations and speculations were unnecessary and unfair.
