The 42-year-old woman at the centre of a recent “missing person” scare in Ondo State, Olatunde Funke, has broken her silence, insisting that reports alleging she was with a man in a hotel were false, while maintaining that she owes no apology to anyone except her church.

Speaking on the incident, Funke dismissed the widespread narrative, stating, “What I was accused of… leaving my matrimonial home for a hotel in Akoko, the story was not true.”

She explained that although she had been advised by her lawyer to limit her comments, she decided to speak out to “clear the air” on the matter.

According to her, the events that led to her stay in a hotel were circumstantial and not premeditated. She said she had never visited the town before and was directed to a nearby hotel by a commercial motorcyclist after an unexpected situation arose.

“That very day, something happened that led me to that hotel. I’ve never been into that place before. I’ve never been to that town before,” she said.

Funke disclosed that she checked into the hotel along the Ikare-Akoko axis to clean up after her clothes were stained due to menstruation, noting that she remained indoors throughout her stay.

“I was inside that room throughout that day. I didn’t go out… I only asked for water,” she added.

Addressing claims linking her to a 55-year-old man, she clarified that the individual was not her companion but someone she contacted for assistance through a phone number previously used by a former tenant known to her family.

“The person they are referring to as the old man… it was the number that woman used to call me,” she explained.

She said she had reached out to the man to help purchase basic items, including slippers and sanitary pads, as she could not step out at the time.

“I gave him money and he brought what I asked for… that was the last time I saw him,” she stated.

Funke admitted that switching off her phone contributed to the panic surrounding her disappearance.

“The mistake I made was that I switched off my phone because I was not in my right frame of mind. I was not thinking straight,” she said, adding that her family became alarmed after being unable to reach her for days.

She further explained that her phone was later tracked, leading authorities to the man she last contacted, who subsequently directed them to the hotel where she was found.

Recounting her encounter with security operatives, she said, “The police just came and said, ‘Madam, you’re under arrest.’ I told them he didn’t kidnap me, but they didn’t listen.”

Funke also decried viral reports suggesting she was caught in a compromising situation, describing them as misleading.

“I saw news going viral that a man lodged me… they were even saying I had died. I’m still alive. There was nothing of such,” she said.

While expressing gratitude to those who showed concern, she maintained a firm stance on the issue of apology.

“I had to apologise to the Celestial Church of Christ worldwide… my name has been tarnished,” she said.

She added pointedly, “I hold them an apology… I do not owe any other person an apology.”

Funke described the incident as a personal trial, expressing hope that normalcy would return with time.

The development comes days after authorities confirmed that a woman earlier reported missing in Ilara-Mokin was found in a hotel in the Ugbe/Ikare-Akoko area, a situation that had triggered public concern and widespread speculation before her reappearance.

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