![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?")
A Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, presided over by Emmanuel Iyanna, has summoned five social media users for “criminal defamation” of gospel artist Mercy Chinwo and her husband, Blessed Uzochikwa.
In a court summons dated April 3, 2024, and obtained by our correspondent on Thursday, Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna ordered the five defendants to appear in person before the court on April 23, 2024.
The defendants are Okoronkwo Ejike, Kingsley Ibeh, DJ Spoiltkid, Terrence Ekot, and Samuel Agozie.
Uzochikwa had previously filed a direct criminal complaint with the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on April 2, through his attorneys, led by Pelumi Olajengbesi.
The document partly read, “On the 29th day of March 2024, the complainant and his legally married wife, Minister Mercy Chinwo, a gospel artist, posted the picture of their lovely son on their Facebook page in the spirit of celebrating the goodness of God to their family for the gift of a child.
“Immediately after the said post was made on Facebook by the couple, one of their followers, who is a mentee of the complainant, drew the attention of the complainant to a post made by the first defendant in reaction to the couple’s post, which read thus: This is the true face of Mercy Chinwo’s child, and she was hiding after giving birth, but the truth is that the little baby looks exactly like Singer, Nathaniel Bassey.
“No body want reason with me oh, this child is Nathaniel Bassey’s baby; just maybe there was a secret away match that occurred; otherwise, how can we make empirical sense of this?
“The said post has sparked up unruly and demeaning reactions from several users online, leading to further defamatory comments by the second defendant, who also commented on the post of the first defendant with the picture of Pastor Nathaniel Bassey, a pastor and gospel artist, with the caption, ‘The real father of the baby.’
“Additionally, drawing from the first defendant’s post, the third defendant, in quoting the defamatory statement of the first defendant with a screenshot of the same on Twitter (now known as “X”), posted: ‘When are we doing DNA testing?’
“Correspondingly, the fourth defendant on the same X platform posted, ‘Take a look at the striking resemblance of Mercy Chinwo’s son and Nathaniel Bassey. Though the duo has been working together on several projects in the past, What do you have to say?’
“For the records, Your Worship, the complainant is the father of the child and not Nathaniel Bassey as portrayed by the malicious posts of the defendants.”
Chronicle NG reported on Wednesday that Nathaniel Bassey asked the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate and prosecute four individuals who, he said, falsely accused him of being the father of Mercy Chinwo’s child.
![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?")
