![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 announced it will resume its total and indefinite comprehensive strike from January 12, 2026, following the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreed welfare demands.
The decision was announced on Friday after an Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held on January 2, according to an update shared on X by the President of the association, Dr Mohammed Suleiman.
In the statement signed by Suleiman, the association said the strike, tagged TICS 2.0, would begin at exactly 12:00 a.m. on January 12, stressing that it would only be suspended after full implementation of its demands.
“NEC resolved to resume TICS 2.0 tagged ‘No Implementation, No Going Back’ with effect from 12th January 2026 by 12:00 am,” the statement read.
Suleiman said the doctors’ association had directed all centre presidents across its 91 centres nationwide to hold congress meetings and brief the media within the next seven days.
“NEC has also mandated every centre President from the 91 centres to hold a congress meeting and, at the end, do a press conference. We want 91 press conferences to saturate the spaces over the next seven days,” he said.
The association also announced a series of protests to accompany the strike. “NEC has also directed centre-based protests from 12 to 16th January, 2026,” the statement said, adding that regional protests would follow before a national protest organised by the National Officers Committee.
According to Suleiman, the strike will only be suspended after the full implementation of minimum demands, including the reinstatement of the “FTH Lokoja five,” payment of promotion and salary arrears, full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget, and the reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance.
Other demands listed include official clarification on entry level and skipping issues by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears with issuance of a pay advisory, recategorisation of membership certificates and issuance of certificates after Part I by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, commencement of locum and work hours regulation committees, and resumption and timely conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement process.
Explaining the timing, the NARD president said, “The one-week window provided is strategic to allow proper congress meetings, media engagement, and statutory notifications of the planned protest to security personnel… as well as hospital management.”
This development follows a warning issued by the association on December 28, when it cautioned that Nigeria was heading toward another nationwide shutdown of medical services over the Federal Government’s failure to honour a Memorandum of Understanding.
The doctors’ association had suspended its 29-day strike on November 29, 2025, after the government committed to implementing its demands within four weeks, a deadline the association said passed without visible progress.
As of press time, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had not issued an official response.
![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")
