News
I’m alive and well, people should mind their business – ‘missing’ Ejiro
Days after she was declared missing, Ejiro, the Nigerian stylist who was rumoured to be missing, has finally resurfaced blistering with anger and admonishing those in frenzy over her whereabouts to leave her alone and mind their businesses.
Addressing expressing concerns that her sudden disappearance from the public eyes had some sinister implications, she claimed that there was nothing wrong and no need to make such conclusions as the decision was completely her own design.
Speculations had become rife after one Nkechi Harry-Ngonadi, who raised concerns about her well-being, alleging that she had been manipulated by a “special prayer group,” on Instagram, which stripped her of her belongings and asked her to close shop in her business.
In fact, so intense was the search and controversy over her affairs that it became a major topic on What’s Trending, a popular segment on The Morning Show, the breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS, television network, where the hosts x-rayed the issues around it.
Ngonadi claimed that Abba’s Heart Ministry, the embattled Instagram prayer group, had brainwashed Ejiro, cut her off from loved ones, and convinced her to sell her belongings and hand over the proceeds.
However, Ejiro who, in an Instagram video, stated that she was neither missing, kidnapped, nor under any form of coercion, expressed shock at the public outcry over her disappearance, explained that she had been unaware of the search for her because her social media accounts had been disabled.
Hear her: “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.
“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.”
She revealed that she only recently learnt about the manhunt initiated by Ngonadi, which accused certain individuals of wrongdoing.
Ejiro clarified that her absence from family and friends was a personal choice, stemming from internal conflicts that had even led to police involvement.
She recounted an incident where she met with her siblings in late January after they began searching for her, which escalated into harassment of her friends and multiple police reports.
“I was just recently notified that there was a search for me, a manhunt on NHN’s page saying I am missing and all that, accusing the innocent. I am truly shocked and surprised and I just had to address it this evening. 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 distance myself from them because I wanted to be alone because of family issues.
“I do not want to bring most of them here and personal issues myself. So, distancing myself from my family, I do not see it as a big deal. I actually went to meet them sometime at the ending of January because my brother and my younger sister were all over the place, accusing people, looking for me, so I had to go meet them.
“I went to my younger sister’s store in Abuja and due to that confrontation, it led to several issues, 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.”
Addressing rumours that she had been pressured to shut down her fashion business, Ejiro denied any external influence, stating that she made the decision due to personal struggles.
She dismissed claims that Joy Solomon, the group’s founder, had instructed her to close her business, calling the allegations embarrassing and unfounded.
“And I told them to back off thinking that everything has ended. I changed my number because I just wanted to start my life over again and now I have seen several allegations about me and I am just surprised. I shut down my own business, my own homegrown business.
“A business I grew by myself, not with my father’s money or mother’s money. I grew the business for almost eight years and I was having a lot of psychological breakdown and I decided to take a step back from my own business and now they accusing Prophet Joy of telling me to shut down my business and I am surprised.
“It is my own business, I can decide what to do with it. Pastor Enoh Jerry can testify, I was having a break down. 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.
“It is annoying and I am disappointed that I have to come on here and start explaining my own life to everybody but because this is what it is, I have to just clarify things not because of me but for every other person involved in this.
“I took a step back from my fashion business towards the ending of 2023 and I do not think I owe anybody any explanation for that. I explained to my siblings that I am taking time off the business but it is nobody’s business.
“Let’s assume that the allegations of me giving out my things are true, how is that anybody’s business? But even at that, I left that one aside… This is very embarrassing for me to come on live and start talking about things like this
“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.”
Ejiro also addressed the issue of her rented apartment, which was allegedly sublet to Taiye Adekan without proper notice. She admitted that she had breached the rental agreement but defended her actions.
“Down to the apartment, it is my property, it is my own house. My rent expired, I had a lot of debts I had to sort out and because I stopped the business the way I did, I could barely afford my rent and I said let me just leave, I wanted to move out from there,” she said.
“My siblings asked me what I wanted to do, I said I do not know yet but let me just leave the house but it is embarrassing to say this that they were concerned about my properties than me. They waved it aside like it was nothing serious for them. They were asking about properties.
“I left my own house and they still went to my own house, house that I paid for with my own money, properties I bought with my own money. Went there abusing people, accusing people, I gave it out to someone, yes I breached the contract. It was someone via the connection of Abba’s Heart that needed a space.
“We had an agreement, come in, renew the rent, I would leave the house for you. And now Taiye went online, saying all sorts of rubbish. Taiye was not informed about the transaction that went down behind the scenes, about me being paid for the properties he got but I do not think I owe him such explanations.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja nullifying the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.
Alex Izinyon SAN, leading a team of lawyers of the commission in a notice of appeal dated May 25, raised nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Apart from raising the issue of jurisdiction, which it said the lower court did not determine, INEC also maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
Arguing that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant, the commission also stressed the lower court misinterpreted the provisions of the electoral act.
It said: “The high court erred in law when it held that: ‘It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Makinde, Turaki, lose! *S’Court affirms Wike’s PDP leadership
-
News2 weeks agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
Features4 weeks agoJim Nwobodo: The Sun shines, thrills, at ‘The Vanguard Awards’
-
News6 days agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
News2 weeks agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
Columns3 days agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING! Coast brightens for Obi, as NDC zones presidency to South