Adamawa Government has revealed plans to shut all Internally Displaced Persons camps in the state in January 2017.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Martins Babale, made this known on Wednesday in Yola while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Security Council meeting.
Babale said that the administration was not happy with the continuous existence of IDPs in camps across the state.
He said, “We will take steps, including encouraging them to settle in villages; we will collaborate with all stakeholders to make sure that between now and January 30th, everyone has left the camps.”
The deputy governor, who is also the Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency, said that the continuous stay of IDPs in the camps when all parts of the state affected by the insurgency had been recovered was not good publicity for the state.
Also speaking on decisions taken at the meeting, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Malam Ahmad Sajoh, said the meeting resolved on the need for massive enlightenment of the public to be vigilant and be on alert to report insurgents fleeing from Sambisa Forest.
Sajoh explained that the state was aware of the capture of suspects in Lagos and does not want to take any chances.
The commissioner said that government would collaborate with organisations like the National Union of Road Transport Workers in tracking such fleeing insurgents.
NAN
![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")
