![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 Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, to explain the whereabouts of alleged missing oil funds amounting to N22.3bn, $49.7m, £14.3m, and €5.2m, reportedly unaccounted for in the company’s financial records.
The civic group, in a letter dated October 25, 2025, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, stated that the missing monies were documented in the 2022 annual report just published by the Auditor-General of the Federation on September 9, 2025.
SERAP requested Ojulari to identify and report persons responsible for the suspected diversion or misuse of funds to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for prosecution.
It further asked that the lost cash be found and restored to the national treasury without further delay.
“These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of public trust, the Nigerian Constitution, anti-corruption laws, and the country’s international obligations,” the organization stated.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General’s findings reveal “systemic corruption” within the NNPCL, which has “undermined Nigeria’s economic development, trapped millions in poverty, and deprived citizens of access to essential public services.”
The group stated that the Auditor-General has routinely documented similar instances of unremitted or missing oil earnings throughout the years and lamented that “ordinary Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of widespread corruption in the oil sector.”
It said, “Combating the corruption epidemic in the oil sector would alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians to basic public goods and services, and enhance the government’s ability to meet its human rights and anti-corruption obligations.”
SERAP handed the NNPCL a seven-day deadline to execute the proposed steps or face legal action to enforce compliance.
According to the 2022 audited report, SERAP found irregularities in NNPCL’s accounts, such as an abandoned ₦292 million contract for an Accident and Emergency Facility in Abuja, over £14 million spent on London office repairs without evidence of execution, and an irregular $22.8 million payment to a contractor for crude lifting with unclear justification.
Other issues include ₦2.3bn in unapproved car cash options for 100 employees, an unremitted operating excess of ₦12.7bn for December 2020, and €5.1m paid for jetty operations without supporting documentation.
Multiple incidents of unauthorized or fake contract payments totaling billions of naira and millions of USD.
The Auditor-General allegedly raised concern that most of the money “may have been diverted or misappropriated” and demanded its collection and repatriation to the Treasury.
SERAP referenced Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires public institutions to eliminate all corrupt practices and abuses of authority, and urged the NNPCL to operate transparently in the public’s interest.
![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")
