![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")
Controversial Nigerian singer Oluwaseun Anikulapo Kuti, better known as Seun Kuti, has berated Northern political elites for allegedly planning a religious Jihad in the country.
In a video shared by the singer on social media, Seun alleged that northern political elites are only concerned about planning a jihad against Southerners while other Muslim countries are advancing technologically, economically, and politically.
“The northern elites still have their vision of carrying out jihad,” he said. “Is Saudi Arabia doing jihad? How many Saudi Arabian princes are riding around Arabia doing jihad and trying to steal land for their people? How many of them are doing it?” Seun queried.
Furthermore, he mentioned that “they have settled down; they are building nations. Look at Qatar, which is hosting the World Cup; Saudi Arabia is doing amazing things all over the place. Saudi Arabia owns almost all the tech companies.
“They have invested their money far and wide to the extent that their leader can kill an American journalist. Chop an American journalist to pieces, and America still does business with him. America still welcomes him. That is the power they have gotten by modernizing their ideology.”
Seun, who described Northern elites as “senseless,” stated that they were undertaking the Jihad in a bid to earn the respect of Arabians.
“You people are still here dreaming of jihad. The northern elites of Nigeria are still here, thinking they want to do jihad in southern Nigeria.
“If I say you people are senseless, you will say Seun is rude; Seun is a marijuana smoker.
“You people are stuck. You want Arabs to see that you are more Arab than them by killing your brother in the name of jihad so that they can tell you that you are Islamic.
“When you prove to them that you have done jihad, let me even say that you northern elites have carried out jihad and you wipe us out and you Islamize Nigeria. Do you think that the Arabs will respect you as Muslims?” Because I know that’s your problem,” Seun stated.
He lamented that when Nigerian Muslims go on Hajj pilgrimages, the Arabians treat them like criminals.
Seun, who alleged that the Northern elites have killed Southern Christians for 60 years, said, “When you people go for Hajj, you do not come back and say the truth. When you go for hajj, you do not talk about the discrimination. The way they treat your women as prostitutes.
“You people go there and get disrespected. That’s why when you come here, you want to prove that maybe when they see that you’re killing your brother in the name of Islam, they will respect you.
“They will never respect you because why they hate you has nothing to do with whether you are carrying out jihad or not.
“What they hate about you is that you are cowards. You are men who cannot build countries. So you are beneath them.
“They see you as inferior because you lack imagination. Not because you lack violence.
“You have killed Nigerians for 60 years. So why will they think that you lack violence? They do not respect you because you lack imagination.”
![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")
