![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")
No fewer than 2, 620 registered rice farmers in nine Local Government Areas in Kogi will benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrower programme for the dry season farming.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Tim Diche, disclosed this in an interview with NAN in Lokoja on Saturday.
Diche said that only registered farmers in the nine local governments along river basins and those that have rivers and dams available to them to do irrigation would access the loan for dry season farming.
He said the local governments are; Ibaji, Idah, Igalamela, Bassa, Kogi, Yagba west, Ajaokuta, Adavi, and Lokoja.
“Due to the urgency of the programme, only farmers who have been captured on our database will benefit from the loan, while others who are yet to be captured will have to wait till next year.
“The anchor borrower programme was faced with lots of challenges in the state, and that is why the registered farmers are unable to access the fund for the wet season farming.
“The state is the anchor and we are ambitious to get it done, but other stakeholders like the Bank of Agriculture, Commercial banks and others are not at that speed.
“We will make sure that we prepare early next year so that all interested farmers will be able to access the loan before the wet season planting begins,” Diche said.
The commissioner, therefore, urged all stakeholders involved in the programme to synergise and harmonise ways to boost and ensure adequate rice production in the state.
He also advised the farmers to maximise the opportunity provided to them by the state and Federal Government through the CBN to boost food production.
Diche noted that the state government was doing its best to encourage farmers in terms of farm inputs, storage facilities, good access roads, food processing and marketing to ensure food security across the state.
