Joy Zainab, a former employee of NeoLife, has recounted the ordeals she and some of her former colleagues faced while working for the nutrition supplement company.
In a statement on X on Tuesday, Zainab stated that her inability to find a part-time joy after her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forced her to join the NeoLife group, a decision she will later regret.
“After my JAMB exam in 2019, I planned to find something to do so as not to stay idle,” she said.
She mentioned that she applied for the job after seeing an advertisement for a role as an usher.
“After searching for what to do, I saw a poster at the junction of my area stating, ‘Ushering job per week, N3000.’ I thought this was really not bad. I contacted the number on the banner, and he asked me to come for an interview on Thursday,” she added.
She mentioned that at the interview, she was “brainwashed” to join the NeoLife team, a team of Nigerians selling nutritional supplements.
“I joined the business of selling drugs (supplement),” she said. “All my feeding allowances then were invested in this business,” she lamented.
She further lamented that despite working under harsh conditions, trekking long distances on an empty stomach, “we had to remit the money we made to my sponsor’s sponsor to keep until it would reach a certain amount to order more supplements.”
“For every supplement ordered, we earned points. We had to reach certain points to upgrade. It was really difficult to step up, as they called it,” she added.
“I could walk from Ilorin to Ibadan then. All my shoes, sandals, and clothes became rags. I learnt how to beg keke (commercial tricycles) or cab riders to help me.
“We went to different ‘mogbo mabranch’ then, pouring rice and soup inside nylons. We couldn’t spend the money we made,” she bemoaned.
Furthermore, she revealed that in a bid to sell their NeoLife supplements in order to “upgrade” to a new level in the team, she and her female team members resorted to selling with rich customers.
“Some of us slept with big men so as to sell their supplements and earn points to step up or maintain their level or money,” she said.
She added that she decided to encourage others to join the business in a bid to “step up and accumulate more points.”
She lamented that many people have died from their diagnosis and treatment.
“They know how to work on people’s brains. A lot of people have died due to their diagnosis and treatment.
“Some of their leaders are even proud that their clients refer to them as doctors. They will tell you not to use normal drugs,” she revealed.
Stating that she narrowly escaped being kidnapped while selling her supplements, she narrated that she was saved from the job by a man whose identity she did not disclose.
“It was one man who saved me then. I used the remaining drugs to boost my life too and blocked them.
“I travelled back home and looked like a diseased person. Till today, I dare not tell my parents,” Zainab stated.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
