![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")
Mrs. Regina Akume, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency, has urged her husband, Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to “come back to Christianity,” citing his Christian faith as the foundation of his rise and achievements.
Mrs. Akume made the statements at the wedding reception for the SGF’s son, which took place on Sunday in Makurdi, Benue.
Idoma Television released a video of her words on Monday, which eventually went viral on social media.
Senator Akume, a former governor of Benue State, also celebrated his 72nd birthday last weekend.
In the clip, Mrs. Akume prayed for her husband’s long life and good health while advising him not to abandon Christianity.
She said, “I pray that the Lord will increase his years and give him good health of mind and body and clarity in thinking and doing things right.
“And he should remember that he is a Christian, and it is Christianity that brought him this far. To drop Christianity now and go for anything else, he will not be successful.
“So my advice to him is to come back to Christianity and follow the line of Christ. We came all the way to the office of SGF, not through enemies but through Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is still alive and still working for us. I wish that he would come back to Christianity.”
Her remarks came after the SGF recently married another woman.
According to reports, Senator Akume has married Zaynab Ngohemba-George, the former wife of Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife.
The marriage was made public on December 26, 2025, following a Facebook post by Abraham Double-D Dajoh, a member of the Akume Dajoh family from Mbakor, Benue State, welcoming Zaynab to the family.
“We, the entire Dajoh family, happily join our daddy, uncle, and brother, His Excellency, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume Jugu Dajoh, in welcoming his new and uncommon wife, Queen Zaynab Ngohemba-George Akume Dajoh, into the Dajoh family,” he said.
Akume’s spokesman, Yomi Odunuga, confirmed the marriage, clarifying that the union is more than a year old and not a recent development, contrary to some reports.
Prior to this, Zaynab was married to the Ooni of Ife in a traditional ceremony in March 2016, but the marriage ended in August 2017.
![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")
