![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 Buji Local Government Council of Jigawa State has confirmed the death of a 30-year-old man and his two-year-old son in a building collapse that occurred in Madabe village.
The council’s Information Officer, Ali Safiyanu, who confirmed the information in Dutse on Monday, said the 25-year-old mother of the boy survived the incident.
Safiyanu said that the surviving mother was responding to treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
He explained that the incident which led to the collapse of the building occurred on Sunday during a heavy downpour.
Also speaking, the state spokesman for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Badaruddeen Tijjani, confirmed the incident but could not immediately give the names of the deceased and the survivor.
Tijjani said investigation had since commenced into the incident.
Recall that flood wreaked havoc between Thursday and Sunday in some villages in the area, displacing about 400 households and destroying about 1,000 farms.
The state Management Emergency Management Agency had already distributed relief items to the displaced persons camped in one of the schools in the area.
