Nigerian Priest in US dies by suicide after being ordered to return home

A Nigerian Catholic priest serving in the United States, Reverend Benjamin Okwy Madu, has died by suicide after being directed to leave the country and return to Nigeria, where he had reportedly expressed fears for his safety.

Father Madu, 54, died on July 2 at his residence in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, according to the Archdiocese of Boston, where he served as both a hospital chaplain and parish priest since 2021.

His religious worker visa was due to expire on July 29. However, his home Diocese of Abakaliki in Ebonyi State had instructed him to return to Nigeria earlier to assume a new assignment scheduled to commence on August 4.

According to reports by the Boston Globe, Father Madu had repeatedly indicated that he did not wish to return to Nigeria. In remarks to parishioners and a farewell message published on his parish’s website days before his death, he stated that leaving the United States was not his decision but was necessitated by circumstances beyond his control.

The report also revealed that the Sunday before his death, the priest 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 in an internal email that Father Madu had “tragically took his own life,” according to the National Catholic Register. However, the Archdiocese’s public statement announcing his death did not specify suicide as the cause.

The Essex County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the death remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, adding that foul play is not suspected.

Meanwhile, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition alleged that Father Madu experienced severe emotional distress over the prospect of returning to Nigeria, where Catholic priests have increasingly become targets of kidnappings and violent attacks.

The coalition also blamed the inability to renew his visa under current US immigration policies for worsening his situation.

“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,” the group said in a statement.

Born on May 15, 1972, Father Madu was ordained at St. Theresa Cathedral in Abakaliki and would have celebrated his 25th anniversary in the priesthood on July 7, just five days after his death.

He had served in the Archdiocese of Boston for nearly six years under successive R-1 religious worker visas. Archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon reportedly said there was no available pathway to extend his visa under existing US immigration policies affecting Nigerians.

The late priest had openly spoken about his fears of returning to Nigeria due to worsening insecurity and the growing wave of kidnappings and killings involving Catholic clergy.

Following his death, members of his parish disclosed that efforts had been made to seek political intervention that would allow him to remain in the United States.

The US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition has since urged the United States government to suspend deportations of Nigerians and grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to eligible Nigerian nationals residing in the country.

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