![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")
Heavy gunfire has been heard at several barracks in Burkina Faso‘s capital Ouagadougou, and at a nearby air base.
The government has denied reports of a coup or that President Roch Kaboré has been detained.
The defence minister said the crisis had been contained, though there was still shooting at some barracks.
The government has faced growing discontent over its failure to quell an Islamist insurgency that has devastated the West African state since 2015.
On 11 January, it said that 10 soldiers had been arrested over an alleged coup plot.
The government has also repeatedly cut internet services, and has cracked down on public protests against the growing instability.
Residents said that gunshots could be heard since the early hours of Sunday at military camps in the west and south of the capital, Ouagadougou, and at an air base near the main airport.
Soldiers convicted of a coup attempt in 2015 are imprisoned at the camp in the west, known as Sangoule Lamizana.
Shooting was also heard at military bases in the northern towns of Kaya and Ouahigouya.
In a televised address to the nation, Defence Minister Barthélémy Simporé played down reports of a mutiny.
He said there were “localised, limited” incidents “in a few barracks”, and none of the “republican institutions” had been targeted.
The soldiers involved had not yet made any demands, and the government was still trying to understand their motives, he added.
Gen Simporé urged people to continue with their normal activities, saying the government would release further information in due course.
The location of President Kaboré is unclear, but the defence minister denied rumours circulating on social media that he was under arrest.
Mr Kaboré, a former banker and prime minister, became president after winning elections in 2015.
The polls were the first since long-serving ruler Blaise Compaoré went into exile a year earlier following a popular uprising against his rule.
Mr Kaboré announced a shake-up of the military top brass in November in an attempt to tighten his grip on power, and to fight Islamist insurgents who have wreaked havoc in the entire region.
The killing of 53 people by suspected jihadists in November heightened public outrage against the government for failing to end the insurgency, and raised fears that the military would take power – just as it had in neighbouring Mali in May.
![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")
