President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family and friends of retired Colonel Paul Ogbebor, saying ”it’s the end of a life well spent, with footprints indelibly printed in the sands of time”.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, disclosed that Ogbebor, who passed on at 80, was the first cadet to enroll at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
Buhari said that the deceased pursued an illustrious military career, during which he emerged a hero of the Nigerian Civil War.
He saluted the community spirit of the departed, who was in the vanguard of the socio-cultural group, Edo Leaders of Thought and chieftain of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).
The late Col Ogbebor had documented his professional life through a book, Nigerian Defence Academy: A Pioneer Cadet’s Memoir, which the President described as ”one of the vital resource materials on the pioneer military training institution in the country”.
The president also commiserated with the professional colleagues of the departed, urging all those who mourned him to take solace in the fact that the deceased lived a distinguished life.
![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")
