![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")
The Ekiti state police command has arrested eleven persons suspected to have participated in the attack on a police station in Ikere, Ekiti, during the #EndSARS protest in 2020.
The suspects, which include a young lady, were among 17 people apprehended for various crimes in the state and paraded to the newsmen yesterday at the command’s headquarters in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
Parading the suspects, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sunday Abutu, alleged that the arrested persons were also behind some recent kidnappings and armed robberies in the state.
Abutu gave the suspects names as: Adewumi Gbenga, Samson Gideon, Ogundare Tobi, Adamolekun Lekan, Olanipekun Daniel, Daramola Tope, Mayowa Ojo, Alaba Ayobami, Aremo Olatunji Oladele, Adebayo Peter, and Abiodun Bosede.
He said, “On September 15, 2023, at about 09:30 a.m., based on a credible tip that some suspected cultists who usually rob innocent citizens of their valuables were planning another armed robbery attack from their hideout in Ikere-Ekiti, the Command’s Rapid Response Squad (RRS) immediately mobilized to the scene and arrested them.
“Upon search, one AK-47 rifle was recovered from the suspects. Investigation revealed that the suspects participated in the attack and set ablaze of Afao Divisional Police Headquarters, Ikere-Ekiti, during the #EndSARS protest in 2020 and carted away the AK-47 rifle, amongst other arms and valuables from the station.
“It was revealed that the AK-47 rifle is part of the arms used to rob one Olasunkanmi Joseph of the cash sum of three million, five hundred thousand naira (N3,500,00:00) at Irona roundabout, Ado-Ekiti, on April 6, 2023, where the victim was killed on the spot.
“Further findings showed that Adewumi Gboyega, a drug baron and present leader of the group, masterminded the kidnapping of one Falana Opeyemi on July 11, 2023, in Ikere, Ekiti, whose whereabouts remain unknown to date”.
The police spokesman, who added that the suspects confessed to being members of the supreme Eiye Confraternity cult group in Ikere-Ekiti during interrogation, said RRS operatives have intensified efforts towards arresting one Ojo Àlaba, Omotoso Sunday, Alabi Babatunde, and other fleeing suspects and recovering other possible stolen arms and ammunition.
Also, one Faponmile Mathew was arrested for attempting to kill one Ijadale Francis and Emmanuel Boluwatife, a filling station attendant, by seriously assaulting and inflicting a high degree of injury on them at Dove Filling Station, Aramoko-Ekiti.
![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")
