A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that a former Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Adedibu Ojerinde be remanded in prison custody.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling on Tuesday, ordered that Ojerinde be kept in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application, scheduled for July 8.
Justice Egwuatu gave the ruling after Ojerinde, dressed in white native attire, was arraigned on an 18-count charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/97/2021, in which he was accused, among others, of complicity in the diversion of public funds estimated at over N5.2billion.
The prosecuting agency – the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) – said Ojerinde committed the alleged offences, contained in the charge, from 2003 when he served as the Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO) till 2021.
The former JAMB boss pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.
His lawyer, Peter Olorunnishola (SAN), subsequently informed the court about a bail application he filed and served on the prosecution.
Olorunnishola however sought time to react to the counter-affidavit filed by lawyer to the prosecution, Ebenezer Shogunle, which the defence lawyer said was served on him late.
Shogunle, who did not object to Olorunnishola’s request for time, opposed the defence lawyer’s application that his client be allowed to remain on the administrative bail, earlier granted him by the ICPC, pending the hearing of his bail application.
![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")
