![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 Araromi Seaside in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area (LGA), according to Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, will make the state a popular tourism destination on a global scale.
When he made this statement on Friday in Akure, Akeredolu added that the government had finalized the necessary paperwork to designate the Seaside as a tourism zone.
He said that the State’s enormous tourism potential would no longer go unrealized and added that the announcement will draw attention to the state on a worldwide scale.
Akeredolu stated that La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort Ltd. would be a partner in the development.
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He asserted that it will bring to the Sunshine State the tourism success stories, particularly those from Dubai.
“We have reached an agreement to declare our waterfronts or shores, where we have a lot of advantage in the country, a Tourism zone,” he said.
He declared that the Sunshine State’s abundant natural tourism resources will be investigated for the economic success of the state and the benefit of not only Nigerians but the entire world.
“I am sure you are aware that there is 840 Kilometres of beachfront in Nigeria across six states in which Ondo state has the longest with almost 200 kilometers of it.
