![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")
Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has begged President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo to forgive Senator Dino Melaye who he defeated at the polls.
Mr. Adeyemi who described Melaye’s time in the National Assembly as “disastrous” asked people who Mr. Melaye has offended to forgive him.
Mr. Adeyemi defeated Mr. Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last Saturday’s supplementary election for Kogi West Senatorial District.
He was declared winner in the Court of Appeal, which ordered a rerun, after getting 88,373 votes to oust Melaye, who got 62,133 votes.
The senator was declared winner on Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following the conclusion of the supplementary poll.
Addressing reporters on Sunday in Lokoja, the state capital, Mr. Adeyemi described Mr. Melaye as his political boy.
The senator-elect promised to avoid any action that will tarnish the image of his constituency and the state.
He said although he brought Melaye into politics, his protégé unfortunately turned against him.
Adeyemi added: “Dino (Melaye) was insulting everyone that made him. Nobody is too big for him to insult; he was fighting people. So, I am apologising to President Muhammadu Buhari, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him. I am apologising to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him. I am apologising to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him.
“I am apologising to Governor Yahaya Bello, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him. I am apologising to security agencies, who he has dispatched on several occasions, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him. I am apologising to the people of Nigeria, Kogi State and Kogi West, on behalf of Dino, to forgive him. He was a disaster when he was at the National Assembly.
“I will bring development to my state and my constituency, by the grace of God. My victory shows that the people of Kogi West want progress and development. Dino never won any election in this state.”
Also, Mr. Melaye said he will challenge what he called Mr. Adeyemi’s “temporal and evaporative victory” at the tribunal.
In a statement on Sunday in Lokoja, Mr. Melaye stressed that “the victory attained by violence and fraud is tantamount to defeat… for it is momentary”.
The statement said: “It is not about Dino Melaye; it is about Nigeria and our electoral system. I stay the course… (it’s) not over yet.
![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")
