![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")
Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, has ordered the prompt replacement of outdated equipment as part of the measures to stop the national grid’s constant breakdown.
Adelabu stated that the replacement would be completed in six months.
Adelabu also urged the Transmission Company of Nigeria and all other relevant ministry departments to immediately execute the recommendations of the interagency committee established to solve the electricity sector’s frequent system breakdowns.
The Minister’s marching orders came as the TCN reported a disturbance in the national grid at 11:29 a.m. on Thursday, November 7, 2024, caused by a rapid increase in frequency from 50.33 Hz to 51.44 Hz.
In a statement, Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser to the Minister on Strategic Communications and Media, quoted the Minister as saying that all relevant agencies in the ministry must prepare for the immediate implementation of the committee’s recommendations, which were submitted on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
“The recommendations of the committee are far-reaching and will proffer lasting solutions to the incessant power grid collapses that we have embarrassingly witnessed in the country in the immediate and long term,” Bolaji said.
On Wednesday, the investigating panel revealed that a poor maintenance culture, as well as inadequate and ageing equipment, are the root causes of the national power grid’s repeated failures in recent months.
It also included recommendations for one month, six months, and a year.
The short-term (one-month) recommendations include: a review of relaying philosophy and settings, particularly at crucial nodes; capacity development for maintenance/system operations workers; Testing existing equipment at essential nodes to ensure reliability, defining a framework and implementing reliability-centred maintenance, and identifying critical current projects for quick completion (low-hanging fruit).
The recommended six-month goals include strengthening relay coordination, replacing aged and obsolete equipment, improving supervisory control and data acquisition and telecommunication tools, developing a framework to attract private investment across the value chain, deploying IoT devices on generating units and transmission lines, and securing firm gas contracts.
Other recommendations include creating and executing methods to prevent vandalism and energy theft; establishing strategies to reduce transmission loss factor and aggregate technical, commercial, and collection loss; and building human capacity.
Customers of DisCo and GenCo will be able to install harmonics filters, decentralise the TCN central store, impose the Free Governor Mode of Operation, and remove ad-lash taped optic wire.
In its one-year target, the committee recommended enhancing the distribution network and capacity, promoting decentralised grid management, implementing full SCADA and telecommunication upgrades across the network, modernising grid infrastructure (Smart Grid), promoting and adopting the use of the ringfenced network, replacing aged and obsolete equipment, integrating renewable energy resources, replacing ad-lash taped with OPGW, and intensive human capacity development.
![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")
