![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")
Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed has said that bandits terrorizing the North are not only from the Fulani ethnic group
According to him, there are the Igbo, the Yoruba and the Hausa who are the real beneficiaries of the illicit trade.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, the Governor said: “These bandits are not only Fulanis.
“In fact, they are terrorising the Fulanis but they have Fulani miscreants within them; they have Hausa, they have Igbo suppliers; they have Yorubas. They’re people really benefitting from the illicit trade.”
Read also: Herdsmen: Gov. Bala Mohammed says ‘AK-47’ is a figure of speech
Speaking further, Mohammed said he has not changed his mind on his recent comment that herders have no option but to carry AK-47 for self-defense because they are being attacked and killed by cattle rustlers.
“I have not changed my opinion on the issue; I was not defending herdsmen,” he said.
The Governor also said: “It seems the security agencies have thrown in the towel; are mesmerized,” on the security situation in the country.”
