![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 "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
The Attah of Igala, Chairman, Kogi State traditional council, Dr Micheal Ameh Oboni is dead.
The 72-year-old Kogi state paramount ruler was said to have had a stroke which complicated the procedure.
He died in the early hours of Thursday and his body was moved to the National Hospital, also in Abuja, for embalming while traditional rites are observed.
Before his death, he was the chairman, Kogi State traditional council.
When Ameh ascended the throne in 2012, he might have thought his reign would be as long as his predecessor. However, that was not the case.
Aliyu Obaje, the 26th attah and Ameh’s predecessor, ruled for 56 years before his demise, having been installed in 1956.
Ameh was chosen unanimously as successor by the four ruling houses in Igalaland to succeed the throne after Obaje’s demise.
The abrupt end of the 27th attah is similar to that of Ameh Oboni I, the 25th ruler of Igalaland. While the 27th attah spent about nine years on the throne, the 25th spent 10 years after he was installed in 1946.
In an interview with PUNCH in 2017, Ameh said he is the only attah in the history of Igala land to have just a wife.
According to him, one wife “is even too many”.
“There is no defined role for the wife of the Attah. What she is supposed to do is to take care of the less privileged in the society. She takes care of the orphans and she gives them food,” he said.
“I have chosen to stay with one wife because one wife is even too many. I am the first Attah in history to stay with one wife and I am comfortable with that.”
Born in 1948, Ameh completed his primary school and Saint Boniface in Idah in 1960. He proceeded to Saint Augustine College, Kabba, and graduated in 1961.
In 1968, he joined the Nigerian Air Force and was discharged in 1974 following an application made by him.
After leaving the air force, Ameh worked briefly at the ministry of lands in the then old Kwara state as land inspection officer. He left the ministry in 1975.
He bagged a certificate in estate management from the Kaduna polytechnic in 1980. He got employed at the federal capital development authority (FCDA) in 1981 where he rose to deputy director and retired in 2006.
![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 "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
