![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 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has rejected the latest Oyo State High Court ruling, calling it unimportant and without legal backing.
In a statement released on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, the PDP caretaker committee, which is headed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Mohammed Abdulrahman, emphasized that the November 2025 convention is still void.
It emphasized that the Oyo State High Court’s ruling was ineffective since prior Federal High Court rulings had prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission from participating in or observing the exercise.
A National Working Committee headed by Tanimu Turaki was elected at the 2025 PDP convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, which was affirmed by the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan on Friday.
Shortly after rendering a decision on an application for joinder in the case, Justice Ladiran Akintola of Court 5 issued the decision.
Through his attorney, Musbau Adetunmbi, the claimant, Folahan Malomo Adelabi, requested 13 reliefs, which the court granted in its ruling.
The Wike-backed PDP group responded by saying that the ruling has no bearing on the issues at hand because it does not bind INEC.
Wike’s faction stated, “The judgment reportedly delivered by the Oyo State High Court is an inconsequential development and is best described as a mere academic exercise. It is important to state clearly that the court that delivered today’s judgment was the same court that earlier granted an interim order to Mr. Damagum and his co-travelers, permitting them to proceed with their Amala Convention held on the 15th and 16th of November, 2025, despite two valid Federal High Court judgments. So, this is not news.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the said judgment does not bind the Independent National Electoral Commission, as INEC was neither joined nor represented as a party in the suit. To say the least, INEC challenged the jurisdiction of the Oyo State High Court, which the court later agreed to in a ruling delivered by the judge and subsequently struck out the name of.
“A judgment that does not bind INEC is of no consequence whatsoever as far as the issues at stake are concerned. The judgment has no legal effect whatsoever on the conduct, monitoring, or recognition of any party convention purported to have been held on the 15th and 16th of November 2026.
“It bears reiterating that INEC has already complied with two subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which expressly restrained the Commission from attending, monitoring, or recognizing the outcome of the purported convention. INEC has equally complied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, which nullified the said convention and restrained Kabiru Turaki and his associates from parading themselves as leaders of the party.
“In light of the foregoing, the National Caretaker Working Committee of the party wishes to assure loyal party members and the general public that all arrangements towards the conduct of congresses and the national convention have reached an advanced stage.”
The PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15, 2025, was declared invalid by a Federal High Court in Ibadan on January 30. The court also ordered Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and others to stop posing as the party’s national officers.
The Ibadan convention, which produced Turaki and members of the National Working Committee for a four-year term, was supported by PDP governors prior to the ruling.
A changeover from outgoing Chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki was also supervised by the governors prior to Damagum’s term ending on December 9.
On December 8, however, a group supporting Nyesom Wike established a 13-member caretaker committee, designating Mohammed as the acting national chairman, Samuel Anyanwu as the acting secretary, and other individuals. The body was given a 60-day mandate.
On November 18, 2025, attempts by the governors’ camp and the Wike-aligned group to meet in Wadata Plaza resulted in chaos and physical altercations.
The PDP National Secretariat was then shuttered by the police and has been closed ever since.
Later, both groups applied for recognition from INEC, but the commission rejected their requests, sparking lengthy legal disputes until the national elections in 2027.
In the midst of the crisis, the caretaker committee led by Wike said on February 3 that a new national convention will be convened in Abuja from March 29 to 30 to elect new PDP leaders.
The Court of Appeal heard all combined cases pertaining to the PDP leadership conflict on February 12 and reserved decision, notifying the parties of the date of the verdict.
![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")
