![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")
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has revealed that his colleague in the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is responsible for his appointment in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
Lokpobiri revealed this on Saturday at an event organised in honour of Wike by the Ijaw Peoples Congress in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
The former Senator also stated that the plan to become a minister in Tinubu’s administration started at Wike’s house in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, and concluded in his Abuja residence.
He said, “Let me thank this team for this strategic meeting here today. First of all, when I was approached by Senator Johnson Nsakebor. He was sent by the Rivers Ijaw Congress that they want to honour me. I asked what the essence of such was. Why do you want to waste such money? I need the money. Give it to me. But he said so many people go on television and speak as if they were speaking on behalf of the Ijaw people. I said okay, I will come and let Nigerians know.
“This gathering here today is a message to those of them in Abuja who don’t understand. So if anybody tells you one day that the Ijaw people are fighting me, It is not correct. We have some ungrateful people everywhere. A father can have twelve children, and one can be an armed robber. Does that mean that the whole family are armed robbers?
“So, all these people are going to television to say Ijaw people are fighting me. Ask them; all the Ijaw people in the House of Assembly were positioned.”
Wike opined that nobody has the monopoly of causing violence, stressing that he and his camp have chosen to play according to the rule of law.
Wike added, “Who has Fubara made? All the things you see are people who are envious of our growth. They couldn’t do what we are doing today. These are people who we have defeated politically several times. If the opportunity comes again, we will defeat them again.
“I have made an Ijaw man governor of Rivers State. God used us. All of us here had sleepless nights. So who loves Ijaw more? Is it people who come out on television who can not even make their Ijaw brother governor? If they had been that powerful since the old Rivers State, would Ijaw have ever become governor? Where are they?
“I have told people that nobody has a monopoly on causing violence. The mere fact that we choose to play according to the rule of law. To be calm and not to turn ourselves into where investors would run away, and that is what we will continue to do.”
![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")
