Shock as Nigerian Priest Dies by Suicide in US Following Forced Return to Nigeria

A 54-year-old Nigerian Catholic priest, Reverend Benjamin Okwy Madu, has died by suicide in Massachusetts, United States, days after he was ordered to leave the country and return to Nigeria for a new assignment despite reportedly expressing fears for his safety if he returned home.

Madu died on July 2 at his residence in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, according to the Archdiocese of Boston, where he had served as a hospital chaplain and parish priest on Cape Ann since 2021.

His religious worker visa was due to expire on July 29. However, according to the Boston Globe, his home Diocese of Abakaliki instructed him to return to Nigeria before the visa expiration date to resume a new assignment scheduled to begin on August 4.

The priest had reportedly made it clear that he did not want to return to Nigeria.

In remarks to parishioners the previous month and in a farewell message posted on his parish’s website shortly before his death, Madu acknowledged that his departure was beyond his control, saying he was returning not by choice, “but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end.”

According to the Boston Globe, the Sunday before his death, Madu suffered a panic attack while driving to celebrate Mass and was treated at a hospital emergency room.

Boston Archbishop Richard Henning later informed fellow priests of the tragedy in an internal email, stating that Madu had “tragically took his own life,” according to a copy of the message seen by the National Catholic Register and reported on Monday.

While the Archdiocese of Boston announced Madu’s death, its public statement did not describe it as a suicide.

The Essex County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the Massachusetts State Police are investigating the death. A spokesperson, however, said foul play was not suspected.

Reacting to the incident, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition alleged that Madu had endured severe emotional distress over the prospect of returning to Nigeria, where Catholic clergy have increasingly been victims of kidnappings and killings.

In a statement sent to PUNCH Online and other news organisations, the coalition said Madu “suffered acute emotional distress and panic over the prospect of returning to a region where Catholic clergy are actively targeted for kidnapping and assassination,” adding that the suspension of his visa renewal under current US immigration restrictions contributed to the circumstances surrounding his death.

The coalition further stated, “The terrifying reality of these rigid restrictions was made plain on July 2, 2026, when Father Benjamin Okwy Madu, a beloved 54-year-old Nigerian Catholic priest serving the North Shore of Massachusetts, tragically took his own life.”

Born in Nigeria on May 15, 1972, Madu was ordained at St Theresa Cathedral, Abakaliki, in Ebonyi State. He would have celebrated the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination on July 7, just five days after his death.

The Boston Globe also reported that Archdiocese spokesperson Terrence Donilon said there was no avenue for extending Madu’s visa under the current US immigration policy affecting Nigeria.

The priest had repeatedly spoken publicly about his fear of returning to Nigeria, citing the security situation in which Catholic priests have been kidnapped and killed in recent years.

Arlene Lesch, a parishioner at Holy Family Church, told the Boston Globe that she joined others in appealing to political leaders in an effort to secure a way for Madu to remain in the United States, but those efforts were unsuccessful.