![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")
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue has warned citizens against cattle rustling and attack on Fulani herdsmen in retaliation, noting that, they will face the law if they do.
Ortom, who gave the warning at an emergency stakeholders meeting in Makurdi on Monday, urged the people to report any violation to appropriate authority for action.
The governor said anybody that rustle cattle and kill Fulani herdsmen would not be spared by the law, stressing that the Anti-Open Grazing Law protected both herdsmen and farmers.
He disclosed that the law was against cattle rustling and it also forbids cattle from grazing openly, especially on farms, stressing that there were stiff penalties attached to the offences.
He said that 80,000 people had been registered as Internally Displaced Persons at the five camps opened by the state government as a result of the Fulani herdsmen killings.
He further sued for unity and peace among his subjects irrespective of their political and religious affiliations to enable them tackle the security challenges that had bedeviled the state.
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Amb. Iyorwuese Hagher, a former Nigerian Envoy to Canada, advocated for State Police, stating that state police would assist in curbing the security challenges that engulfed the states.
Senator Fred Orti corroborated Ortom by calling on the people to bury their differences, be they political or religious, so as to address the insecurity in the state head on.
Prof. Jerry Agada said that Benue people fought for the survival of Nigeria to keep it one and indivisible entity and they ought to do same by tackling the Fulani herdsmen attack head on.
Former Minister of Power and Steel, Paul Unongo commended Benue people for uniting in order to tackle the incessant attack on them by herdsmen.
Unongo stressed that the unity should be forever and not just temporary because the more united they were the more stronger and viable they would be.
The Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, said that the Anti-Open Grazing Law did not breach any section of the constitution, and wondered why the herdsmen were resisting it.
The Och’ Idoma, Elias Obekpa, called for constant patrol of River Benue by the Marine Police, stressing that, most times the attackers come through the river to launch attack.
![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")
