![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 "Anthony Odiong: Nigerian Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison over sexual assault")
President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate to permit his administration to go continue with the processing of a $800m loan facility from the World Bank requested by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to finance the National Safety Net Programme.
The president’s request was in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the plenary on Thursday.
Recall two weeks before the end of his administration in May, Mr. Buhari requested the approval of the Senate to obtain a loan facility of $800m from the World Bank to be distributed to poor and vulnerable households.
The then Ahmad Lawan-led Senate referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, but the committee did not report to the Senate before the administration’s tenure ended on 29 May.
In the letter, Mr. Tinubu pointed out that the reason for obtaining the loan facility is to “expand coverage of shock responsive safety net support for all and vulnerable Nigerians” and “to meet the cost of their basic needs.”
“You may also wish to know that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock responsive safety net support for all and vulnerable Nigerians and the….at the cost of meeting basic needs.” President Tinubu stated in the letter.
Explaining further the President in his letter noted, “You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the program, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of 8,000 a month to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months with a multiplying effect on about 60 million individuals.
“To guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets. It is expected that the program will stimulate economic activities in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health, and education outcomes for beneficial households.
“Given the above, I wish to invite the Senate to kindly grant approvals for additional loan facilities USD800milliom to be secured from World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme,” the president wrote
The Senate President, however, referred the request to the Committee of the Whole for consideration on the ground that the Senate has yet to constitute the committee on local and foreign debt.
![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 "Anthony Odiong: Nigerian Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison over sexual assault")
