![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")
President Bola Tinubu congratulated the newly elected President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Eze Anaba, his executives, and other Guild contestants that lost out.
Tinubu encouraged the journalists to place the profession in prime position to continually fulfil its constitutional obligation of serving as a watchdog for the people by checking the excesses of government.
In a statement released on Friday by Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy.
“The last biennial convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) was an epochal milestone in the evolution of the journalism profession in Nigeria. An event that witnessed the election of new officers of the Guild to guide the affairs of the organisation for the next two years, it is most gratifying that the outcome was successful and rancour-free despite the intensity of the contest for the various positions competed for. On behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, I congratulate the newly elected President of the Guild, Mr. Eze Anaba, Editor of the Vanguard newspaper, and wish him and other newly elected officials of the guild a most fulfilling and productive tenure in office.”
“By its peaceful and rancour-free conduct of elections to elect its new officers, the NGE has sent a resounding message to the larger Nigerian polity that elections for desired offices can be intensely competed for without degenerating into bitterness, acrimony, and needless malice. In this regard, the President commends those who lost out in the elections at various levels, such as Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi of ThisDay newspaper, for accepting the outcome and pledging support for the winners. This is a light that the NGE is showing that the rest of us may find the way to a mature, tolerant, stable, and sustainable democratic culture.”
“It is of the utmost importance that the various unions in the newspaper industry, such as the NGE, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), imbibe the ethos of internal democracy in support of professional integrity for the benefit of good governance, stability, and sustainable development in Nigeria. In this regard, the NGE has made a strong statement for the Nigerian media as a worthy exemplar. But then, elections are not held within the unions in our profession just for the sake of holding elections to appoint new officers of associational offices. Rather, the larger picture is to ensure at all times that we place the profession in prime position to continually fulfil its constitutional obligation of serving as a watchdog of the people in checking the excesses of government and promoting the greatest good of the greatest number of our people.”
“The history of the Nigerian media has, since its epochal role in the struggle against colonial imperialism, been intimately intertwined with the fate of the Nigerian state and her peoples. The press was active in the struggle against military dictatorship in post-colonial Nigeria, and this opposition to autocracy was particularly exemplified in the fierce opposition of patriotic media practitioners to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola. It is impossible to write the history of the democratic benefits we have enjoyed since the commencement of this dispensation in 1999 without emblazoning the heroic contributions of patriotic sections of the media in gold.”
“But President Tinubu insists that the challenges ahead of the media in playing its role towards strengthening our democracy, keeping power continually in check, and promoting good, responsible, and accountable governance are greater than the paths traversed before. He pledges the support of his administration in collaboration with the media towards achieving these lofty objectives in the best interest of our country.”
“Once again, the President congratulates the newly elected officials of the NGE and wishes them a most successful and productive tenure in office.”
![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")
