![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")
Pirates off Nigeria’s oil-rich south have stormed a small oil tanker, kidnapping six sailors, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Thursday, the latest in a string of such attacks.
The Apecus, a Palau-flagged petroleum products tanker of 3,100 deadweight tonnes, was attacked as it was anchored off Bonny Island, south of oil hub of Port Harcourt, according to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.
“An anchored tanker was boarded by unauthorised persons who kidnapped six crew and escaped,” the piracy watchdog said, adding that the rest of the crew were reported to be safe. No details of their nationalities were given.
“The Nigerian Navy was notified and an investigation into the incident has been launched,” the IMB added. The Navy was not immediately available for comment.
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Pirates normally seize sailors for ransom.
Nigerian pirates recently hijacked another merchant ship, robbing the vessel’s crew. The unidentified ship was freed in the Gulf of Guinea by a Spanish warship on April 9 after four days.
Days later, on April 15, four armed men boarded another anchored oil tanker, also in the Bonny River area, but Nigerian naval guards onboard fought the pirates off.
Nigeria has been a hotspot for piracy incidents over the past decade. The country reported 14 pirate attacks for the first quarter of 2019, compared to 22 in the same period in 2018.
A report by IMB early this month attributed the decline to the navy’s increased efforts to “actively respond to reported incidents by dispatching patrol boats.”
