![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")
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, says all passport applications will be processed online by March 1, 2025, as part of a broader digitalisation effort aimed at enhancing efficiency and curbing corruption.
Speaking in an interview with Segun Awosanya, better known as Segalink, the minister said the establishment of a centralised passport approval centre aims to enhance security and eliminate human interference in the process.
“With what we have now, over 100 people can apply for passport at a time without any physical intervention or appearance or queue,” Tunji-Ojo said.
”We’ve been able to open up a space and relocate immigration offices to everybody’s phone; and that is what technology is all about.
“Technology is about efficiency, value addition, effectiveness and solutions; and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”
The minister also announced the introduction of a contactless passport application service, currently operational in Canada, which will be rolled out in Nigeria by March.
Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Rivers states will be the first to adopt the system.
“In Canada, contactless is live; By February 1, by the grace of God, Europe is coming on board. And of course, by March 1, four states in Nigeria are also coming live; which is Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and River States,” he said.
“They’re coming on board on the contactless list because we don’t think it should be a solution only for foreigners, but also for Nigerians.
“Nigerians here should also be able to have that advantage, because part of the advantages is that it eradicates corruption. You can’t collect money from who you don’t see, so we want to reduce the human interface as much as we can.
“We believe that once we are able to reduce the human interface, then we’ll be able to get corruption out of the things that we’re doing in that particular regard. If you get to immigration headquarters today, the permanent site of the centralized personalization center is already going live on direct.”
Tunji-Ojo also highlighted plans to centralise passport production in Nigeria, adding that all Nigerian passports, regardless of where they are applied for, will be printed domestically by May 1.
“By May 1, we are moving to the permanent location of a centralized production center. It means that all Nigerian passports anywhere in the world will be printed in Nigeria,” the minister said.
“This means we join the league of countries like the United States, like Britain, like Canada, and all other major countries in the world that centralize passport personalization procedures.”
‘We’ve Built 8.3-Petabyte Data Centre’
The minister also disclosed the establishment of an 8.3-petabyte data centre to address the country’s longstanding data management issues.
“We were able to build one of the biggest data centres in the history of Nigeria, which is the 8.3-petabyte centre,” he added.
“Before then, we inherited a Nigeria Immigration Service that had no data centre; where the data of Nigerians was obviously being saved in private capacities with various contractors, and that was a gross contravention of the Data Protection Act.
“Nigeria cannot proliferate the issuance of its security document because it is a gross violation of due process. And so, we decided to find a lasting solution to that.
“We started by promising Nigerians a 1.4-petabyte data centre, but we ended up delivering an 8.3-petabyte data centre — one of the largest in the world.”
Tunji-Ojo reiterated the administration’s commitment to making passports easily accessible, calling them important security materials and vital to Nigeria’s sovereignty.
![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")
