How the ‘Billionaire’ Scheme Drives Nigerian Students into Debt, Prostitution
An investigative report reveals how students and young Nigerians are being lured into a multilevel marketing (MLM) scheme, operated by a global health and wellness company, NeoLife, under false pretenses of quick wealth, leading many into debt, abandoning education, and, in some cases, resorting to prostitution to meet impossible sales targets.
Victims recounted a carefully orchestrated recruitment strategy built on lies. Adebiyi Asabi (27) detailed how she was lured in 2018 with a fake job offer as a makeup artist for models.
Once recruits arrived, they were subjected to “wealth creation” seminars where leaders claimed staggering monthly earnings, often over N1 million, while simultaneously discrediting traditional employment and education.
Recruiters used psychological tactics to brainwash participants, telling students that school is a “scam” and that their families remained poor because they engaged in “poor people’s jobs.”
This manipulation led Asabi to abandon her plan to attend a higher institution. The core philosophy instilled was: “They say people are money in NeoLife. The more people you bring, the more you earn.”
The pursuit of wealth within NeoLife demanded extreme sacrifices and unwavering allegiance, with members being told they must meet a minimum of 100 point value (about N100,000 in products) monthly for 20 years to become rich.
These targets led to financial ruin and desperation:
* Low Returns: Asabi, despite reaching the Senior Manager rank, received a cheque of just N2,000 after investing N250,000.
* Health Deterioration: The stress and hunger caused Asabi’s health to deteriorate, prompting her mother to beg her to quit.
* Sacrificing Necessities: Members reportedly sold their phones, skipped meals, and used money meant for rent or tuition to buy products to meet targets.
Akinpelu Racheal (23), another victim, used nearly N500,000 meant for her college tuition to invest in the scheme, only to receive a first monthly cheque of slightly over N4,000.
As the pressure mounted, the investigation uncovered disturbing allegations of exploitation and immorality.
Asabi claimed she can “boldly say anywhere that 70 per cent of NeoLife ladies are into prostitution,” selling their bodies to raise money to purchase the products required to maintain their rank.
She also recounted personal experiences of sexual predation from male customers who sensed the desperation of young female distributors.
Furthermore, she alleged that leaders not only ignored such exploitation but encouraged desperate measures, once telling members to “sell our breasts or cut our pubic hair for sale — just bring the money.”
The organization demanded total allegiance, leading to emotional detachment. Both Asabi and Racheal eventually quit after their respective team leaders showed chilling cruelty regarding family crises:
* Asabi’s leader told her her ailing mother “should die if she wants to die” if she was shielding her success.
* Racheal’s leader suggested she should have died or broken a limb in a family accident for leaving the business without permission.
In an email response to Saturday PUNCH, the Director of Field Support (Nigeria), Adeshina Mustapha, rejected the allegations as “extremely concerning” and inconsistent with the company’s values.
He insisted that NeoLife operates with “absolute integrity,” upholding honesty and ethical conduct.
Mustapha emphasized that the workers are independent distributors who agree to uphold NeoLife’s code of conduct.
He denied all claims regarding forced school dropouts, immoral activities to meet sales targets, or harmful statements from leaders, asserting that such behavior is “never tolerated.”
