![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")
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has appealed to senior members of the medical profession to intervene as the association warned of a possible return to a nationwide strike.
NARD said it is on the verge of embarking on another Total and Indefinite Comprehensive Strike, tagged TICS 2.0, following the Federal Government’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the association.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Secretary General of NARD, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the situation had reached a critical point for Nigeria’s health sector.
“I write to you at a critical moment for Nigeria’s health sector and the medical profession,” Ibrahim said, while addressing senior and respected medical elders.
He stated that the looming strike was triggered by what he described as the failure of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government to honour the MoU freely entered into with NARD.
“The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors stands on the brink of another nationwide industrial action, Total and Indefinite Comprehensive Strike TICS 2.0, triggered by the failure of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government to honour the Memorandum of Understanding freely entered into with NARD,” he said.
Ibrahim said the development was distressing, noting that it reflected a breakdown of trust and good faith between the government and medical professionals.
According to him, NARD had exercised patience over the past months by suspending strikes and extending ultimatums without any meaningful response from the government.
He explained that after the suspension of a warning strike, the association issued a two week ultimatum, which elapsed without response, before extending it by 30 days and later by another seven days, all without results.
“Consequently, TICS 1.0 commenced, prompting limited engagement that culminated in the signing of an MoU with clear timelines,” he said.
Ibrahim noted that 31 days after the signing of the MoU, there had been no visible or substantive progress in its implementation.
“Today marks the 31st day after the signing of the MoU, yet there has been no visible or substantive progress on its implementation,” he said.
He added that resident doctors should not be blamed if industrial action resumes, having shown restraint while government obligations remained unmet.
“It is only fair to state that resident doctors should not be blamed if industrial action resumes, having repeatedly demonstrated patience while government obligations remain unmet,” Ibrahim said.
The NARD scribe said resident doctors remained overworked and demoralised, describing them as the backbone of service delivery in Nigeria’s tertiary hospitals.
“When agreements addressing our welfare endorsed by the Federal Government are treated with levity, it sends a dangerous signal that sacrifice, dialogue, and professionalism no longer count,” he added.
He therefore appealed to respected medical elders to intervene and prevail on the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government to take urgent steps to honour the MoU.
“We therefore humbly but urgently appeal to you to prevail on the Federal Ministry of Health, and by extension the Federal Government, to take immediate and visible steps to honour the MoU with NARD,” he said.
The appeal comes weeks after NARD suspended its 29-day nationwide strike that began on November 1, 2025, following an Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting.
About 11,000 resident doctors across 91 teaching hospitals had withdrawn their services during the strike, disrupting health services nationwide.
The strike was suspended after the signing of an MoU between NARD and the Federal Government, which addressed issues including the reinstatement of the Lokoja doctors, release of the Professional Allowance Table, payment of promotion and salary arrears, implementation of specialist allowance, and resolution of entry level and membership certificate matters.
NARD had warned at the time that failure to meet the agreed timelines would result in a resumption of industrial action.
![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")
