President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday evening arrived in Makkah from the city of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, where he began the initial leg of his Umrah engagements in the Kingdom.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja, on Saturday morning.
He said: ”After the evening prayer at the Holy Prophet’s Mosque on Thursday, the President was ushered to the grave of Prophet Mohammed where he said prayers for the nation, his family and himself.
”He was seen off at the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Madina International Airport by the Governor of the Madinah Province, Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.”
Shehu further disclosed that the President was welcomed at Makkah by the Regional the Governor, Prince Khalid Bin Faisal Al-Saud.
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Also at hand to receive him were the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Justice Isa Dodo (rtd), the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar and officials of the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah.
”After the reception, he immediately went ahead to commence the Umrah rites Friday evening,” the presidental aide revealed.
President Buhari had on May 16 left Abuja for Saudi Arabia following the invitation of King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the king of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to perform the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) in the Kingdom.
The President, who is expected to return to Abuja on May 21, had last performed the Umrah in Saudi Arabia in Feb. 2016.
Umrah is an optional but recommended pilgrimage to Makkah that can be made at any time of the year.
![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")
