![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")
Atiku Abubakar, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been disqualified from the Saturday presidential election by Senator Smart Adeyemi (Kogi West).
Adeyemi, who barged into the APC National Secretariat on Monday evening to seize the Kogi State governorship nomination forms, claimed that APC’s Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi are in a two-horse fight for the presidency.
He started speaking after selecting his governorship application to run in the Kogi gubernatorial election scheduled for November 11, 2023.
The former National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), who gave this assessment, hailed the 19 Northern APC Governors for insisting that power must shift to the South.
Rating the likely performance of the presidential candidates, the Kogi State governorship hopeful ruled out the PDP candidate, insisting that the race is between Tinubu and Obi.
He said: “Why will anybody ask you to vote for Atiku? Was he not in charge of privatization? Was he not the one who sold out assets to non-performing companies? All those who do not know the history will be shouting Atiku. Atiku is not in the equation.”
The third-term federal lawmaker was full of praises for the APC northern Governors who stood their ground that power must shift to the south in 2023 and rescue the country from crisis.
“Northern Governors in the APC insisted on a power shift to save Nigeria from the crisis. History will forever be kind to them. This election is between Asiwaju and Obi. Atiku is not in the race. Atiku cannot be in the race,” he said.
On the implementation of the naira redesign policy, he said: “They brought this redesigning of our currency to ridicule APC. Asiwaju creates wealth. Atiku sold our wealth and resources.
I pity Peter Obi because politics is the way you are seeing it. Just yesterday, the entire Labour Party structure in the Northwest collapsed its structure for the APC. So, how is he going to win the election? Maybe he is a man for the future but in this election, the strength is not there.
“It is beyond street politics. I am from Kogi. There is no Labour Party presence in my constituency. Winning an election is about strategic thinking and planning not about talking too much.
“I am supporting Asiwaju and Shettima not because they are APC but because of their records and contemporary issues in the Nigerian nation.”
Akeredolu urges massive votes for Tinubu
Ondo Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has called on Ondo people to troop out en mass on Saturday to vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Akeredolu said the choice of Tinubu could not be faulted owing to the political workings of the country.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Owo, Owo local government, Akeredolu said Tinubu has a track record of achievement.
The Ondo Governor said Tinubu’s achievements towered above others.
He said: “We are supporting him not because we are from the same tribe but because he’s competent.
“Tinubu is a trusted and tested leader. Our insistence on Southern Presidency is for fairness and equality.
An Awoist and legal practitioner, Barr. Eddy Osifo, had faulted comments by Chief Afe Babalola that the outcome of next Saturday’s presidential election would depend on the deepness of the candidates’ pockets.
Osifo argued that the winner would depend on the level of sophistication and political methodology.
In a statement in Akure, Barr. Osifo said Tinubu, appeared more sophisticated and methodical in his approach to campaigns as well as reaching out to electorates.
Barr. Osifo stated that Tinubu has the brightest chance of winning the presidential election.
He said the victory of Tinubu would not be dependent on deep pockedtedness but the level of sophistication in style.
“If Tinubu wins on Saturday, it will not be due to his deep pocketedness but to the level of sophistication in his style.”
Culled from The Nation Newspaper
![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")
