Foreign
US: Nigerian Catholic Priest arrested in Texas over sexual assault
Anthony Odiong is accused of sexual assault by at least eight women whom the priest had been counseling.
The criminal case that authorities are building against a Roman Catholic priest accused of preying on women whom he met while working in south-east Louisiana and Texas is progressing, with a grand jury in the latter state indicting him on three felony sexual assault charges.
Anthony Odiong, 55, faces two counts of second-degree sexual assault as well as one of first-degree sexual assault in the charges handed up against him recently in the McLennan county, Texas, state court.
The charges against Odiong – who was first arrested in July – involve two women. He could receive up to life imprisonment if convicted of the first-degree charge, a stiffer penalty that stems from the fact that the alleged victim in the case was a woman whom Odiong was prohibited from “marrying or purporting to marry” under Texas law.
The second-degree counts each carry up to 20 years in prison in what is one of only about a dozen states with a law that criminalizes sexual activity between clergymen and adults who emotionally depend on their spiritual advice.
Though Odiong did not immediately enter a plea, he has previously denied wrongdoing and pledged to “clear” his name.
Police in Waco arrested Odiong months after the Guardian published a report detailing prior allegations that ranged from sexual coercion and unwelcome touching to financial abuse, all made by women whom he met through his work as a priest.
Sworn police statements show that report prompted a woman to walk into the Waco police department and accuse Odiong of sexually assaulting her in 2012.
The subsequent police investigation established that Odiong would position himself as a spiritual adviser to women confronting difficulties in their personal lives.
He had sexual intercourse with at least one of the women at the center of the indictment against him, the investigation led by Waco detective Bradley DeLange determined. With respect to the other woman, he allegedly managed to pressure the victim into letting her husband sodomize her despite her faith-based objections to that form of sexual intimacy – while also successfully urging her to narrate her experience to him.
Investigators also alleged that they found digital child abuse imagery in Odiong’s possession. Those allegations were not included in Thursday’s indictment, though that does not rule out authorities eventually obtaining a formal charge in connection with that allegation.
In all, as of the summer, at least eight women had come forward with generally similar allegations against Odiong, though more alleged victims have since been identified, officials have said. That number of alleged victims, in Texas, removed statutes of limitation – or time limits to file charges – as a consideration.
Police ultimately took Odiong into custody near a home where he was living in Collier county, Florida, on 16 July. He was later transferred to the jail in McLennan county, which includes Waco, and ordered held on a relatively high $2.5m bond.
Odiong has not been able to make bail, which was set after Waco police noted that the clergyman had “access to immense amounts of money … and access to passports and multiple avenues to flee” the US. Police also described how supporters of Odiong who remained sympathetic to him could have helped him avoid his day in criminal court if he made bail.
Odiong was ordained into the Catholic priesthood in the diocese of Uyo, Nigeria, in 1993. He was allowed to work within the diocese of Austin beginning in 2006 by then bishop Gregory Aymond.
After a stop in Rome, Odiong in 2015 was invited to work within the archdiocese of New Orleans by Aymond, who by then had been appointed the archbishop there.
Aymond would later guide New Orleans’ archdiocese into federal bankruptcy reorganization amid the fallout from a clergy molestation scandal that has engulfed the organization for decades. On Friday, the archdiocese offered an average of $125,000 to settle its legal differences with about 500 clergy abuse claimants. The claimants are demanding an average of $2.5m each, which would be the largest settlement in the history of US Catholic church bankruptcies.
Two of the places where Odiong was stationed over the years were the Saint Peter Catholic student center on the outskirts of Baylor University’s campus in Waco as well as the Saint Anthony of Padua church in Luling, Louisiana. Aymond’s archdiocese did not remove Odiong from working in Luling until this past December, though his accusers had previously attempted to report him to church authorities, police or both in prior years, according to a Guardian investigation into Odiong.
Attorneys Chris King and Robert Callahan represent one of Odiong’s accusers, and they issued a statement to Texas television station KTRE saying their client planned to sue Odiong and those under whom he worked in Austin.
The client added in her own statement: “I sought spiritual direction from Anthony Odiong during one of the darkest phases of my life. Rather than helping me, he exploited my vulnerability and trust.”
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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