- Fashion entrepreneur Evelyn Onyema, CEO of 44 Clothing, broke her silence after a two-day disappearance that triggered a public search and police alert
- Onyema said a blog post about her relationship with boyfriend Derrick and his subsequent accusation pushed her to an emotional breaking point
- Activist Harrison Gwamnishu had coordinated search efforts after Onyema was last seen near Bonny Camp in Lagos, with fears peaking when a body was found nearby
Fashion entrepreneur and CEO of 44 Clothing, Evelyn Onyema, has finally spoken out about her two-day disappearance that sent alarm bells ringing across social media and prompted a public search effort in Lagos.
In a lengthy video shared on the evening of October 21, 2026, by activist Harrison Gwamnishu on his Instagram page, Evelyn Onyema apologised to her family, friends, and supporters while offering an account of the events that preceded her going off the grid.
Source: Instagram
What triggered CEO of 44 Clothing's disappearance
According to Evelyn Onyema, friction with her boyfriend Derrick had been building for about a month before matters came to a head.
The breaking point came after a blog published a story about their relationship, prompting Derrick to accuse her of being the source of the leak.
She denied the allegation, but the confrontation, layered on top of other personal pressures she had already been managing, proved too much to bear.
In a separate video posted on her own Instagram page, she addressed supporters directly, saying she had not been reachable because she had no phone and no means of communication at the time.
"I was barefoot. I was even barefoot," she said. "I was begging people along the road to actually drop me where I was going to."
She described her state as severely triggered, saying her trauma had been activated at a point in her life when she was already stretched thin.
She disclosed that she eventually checked herself into a hotel to decompress before returning home.
"I had to go to a hotel, lock off, sleep there for days. My head was boiling; it was a whole lot for me to take in," she said, adding that she did not want to say much further because the matter had become a police case.
Watch Evelyn's apology in the Instagram video below:
Source: Instagram
Fears peaked after body was found in Lagos river near Bonny Camp
The disappearance had prompted widespread panic after Onyema was last spotted with Derrick in the Bonny Camp area of Lagos.
Gwamnishu had coordinated public search efforts and kept the matter in view online.
Anxiety deepened when a body was discovered nearby, though it was later confirmed to have no connection to Onyema. She has since returned home safely.
Before her reappearance, a voice note in which she pleaded with Derrick not to end their relationship had circulated online, prompting his sister to publicly defend him and deny any involvement in her disappearance.
Reactions to her return have been mixed. Some expressed relief and concern for her well-being, while others questioned whether the situation warranted the scale of public alarm it generated, with a portion of commenters urging her to seek professional help to work through her emotional struggles.
Watch Evelyn share the full story of what led to her disappearance in the Instagram video below:
Harrison Gwamnishu reacts to killing in Benue
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Harrison Gwamnishu reacted to the death of 16-year-old Sesugh Atser in Makurdi, Benue State.
The teenager died during an encounter with operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in May 2026.
Harrison condemned the incident and stated that a fraud charge should never amount to a death sentence.
Source: Legit.ng