The Department of State Services (DSS) has uncovered a plot to cause violence in parts of the country particularly in the North Central.
Dr Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of the DSS, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
He, however, said that measures had been taken to forestall the plot by some unscrupulous elements in the society.
“While the Service views the machination as unpatriotic, it is on the trail of the agents of destabilisation who are desirous of using violence to achieve ulterior goals.
“Though it has emplaced measures to disrupt these tendencies, it warns the ring leaders and their cohorts to desist from acts capable of causing a breakdown of law and order,” he said.
Afunanya said the plot was to cause ethno-religious crisis, ignite reprisals and heat up the polity.
According to him, in a bid to achieve this, the sponsors have mobilised foot soldiers and held several meetings in and outside the target areas.
He said the Service was also aware of a plot to use students, striking University teachers, labour unions, disgruntled individuals and strategic groups to cause the violence.
According to Afunanya, the target is also to exploit the global energy situation to carry out a mass protest like the #ENDSARS, in spite of government’s efforts to address the issues.
He pledged the commitment of the Service, in conjunction with other security agencies, to go after the sponsors of this scheme and ensure the law takes it course.
The DSS spokesman urged citizens to engage according to rules and resist persuasions to be used to destroy the country.
![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")
