![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-300x200.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
Compared to their US and European peers African tech startups are minuscule but they are finally gaining momentum and attention in some of the world’s most promising economies.
“There are little glimmers of light everywhere” in Africa, said Gilles Babinet, a digital technology expert with the European Commission.
The World Bank recently counted some 443 African incubators — firms that back new businesses with funds and expertise — compared with around just 10 at the beginning of the decade.
Investment fund Partech Ventures estimates African startups raised $560 million in 2017, up more than 50 percent as the number of deals soared 66 percent to 128 from a year earlier.
Such gains allow for optimism but Babinet said it was important too to keep things in perspective.
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The sums are still very far from the 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) raised last year by European startups, he told AFP. “And there is still a lot of work to do to establish solid, lasting (digital) ecosystems.”
– Mobile phones undo obstacles –
Blessed with untold resources, Africa’s economic development has long been hobbled by weaknesses in governance, finance, energy, health and education.
But it is precisely in those areas that the new technology can make a real difference.
One of the most important changes has been in communications, with consultants Deloitte estimating that about one in every two people out of some 1.2 billion Africans will have access to a mobile phone by 2020.
Telcos like Orange, MTN and Vodafone have been quick to offer customers mobile payment services, for example, which are crucial given the dearth of traditional banks.
African startups “are in the process of providing more and more sophisticated (mobile) financial services … including saving accounts, credit lines and insurance”, said Tidjane Deme of Partech Africa, a unit of San Francisco-based digital investment firm Partech Ventures.
The lack of a secure electricity supply in many African states is a chronic obstacle to doing business, and startups are trying their hand here too.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, M-Kopa will install solar panels on a person’s house for an initial $35, followed by 365 micro-payments of 45 cents over their mobile phone after which they belong to the homeowner.
In transport, the Nigerian startup Trade Depot uses a mobile phone platform to put the countless small shop owners of the “informal” economy in touch with large manufacturers, say of soft drinks of beer, to arrange purchases.
“In Africa, when there is a problem, there is always a solution and the idea of a startup,” says Samir Abdelkrim, author of “Startup Lions”, which charts his experience in the sector.
– ‘Something special’ –
Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa dominate by far and account for about three-quarters of startup funding in the continent but their small neighbours are slowly catching up.
“There are other markets where there is a lot going on,” such as Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda in English-speaking Africa, or francophone Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon, says Deme.
Rwanda, whose president Paul Kagame will visit the Viva Technology annual show on Thursday in Paris with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, is also moving ahead, serving as a regional centre, Deme added.
“Rwanda is really something special given that this is a country so affected (by violence) but which has managed not only a transformation in its mindset but also in its economy thanks to its digital approach,” said VivaTech founder Maurice Levy.
This year’s edition of Viva Tech will take place from May 24-26, with a special focus on Africa.
![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")
