Nigerian priest in US dies by suicide after order to return home

A Nigerian Catholic priest serving in Massachusetts died by suicide just days after being instructed to leave the United States and return to his home country, where he had expressed significant fears for his life. Reverend Benjamin Okwy Madu, 54, died on July 2 at his residence in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.

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but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end.

Madu had served as a hospital chaplain and parish priest on Cape Ann since 2021. His religious worker visa was set to expire on July 29. However, his home Diocese of Abakaliki reportedly ordered him to return to Nigeria even sooner, ahead of a new assignment scheduled for August 4. Madu had reportedly made his reluctance to return clear to parishioners and in a farewell message posted on his parish's website, stating that circumstances beyond his control necessitated the end of his time in the U.S.

According to a parishioner who spoke to the Boston Globe, Madu experienced a panic attack while driving to Mass the Sunday before his death and received emergency medical treatment. Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston informed fellow priests in an internal email that Madu had "tragically took his own life." The Archdiocese's public statement, however, did not explicitly describe the death as a suicide.

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tragically took his own life

The Essex County District Attorney's office confirmed that Madu's death is being investigated by the Massachusetts State Police, though foul play is not suspected. The US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition issued a statement highlighting Madu's "acute emotional distress and panic over the prospect of returning to a region where Catholic clergy are actively targeted for kidnapping and assassination." The coalition pointed to the frozen visa renewal process under current U.S. immigration restrictions as a contributing factor to his death, calling it a "terrifying reality."

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suffered acute emotional distress and panic over the prospect of returning to a region where Catholic clergy are actively targeted for kidnapping and assassination

Madu, born in Nigeria in 1972, was ordained in Abakaliki and was nearing his 25th anniversary in the priesthood. He had served in the Archdiocese of Boston for nearly six years under religious worker visas. Archdiocese spokesperson Terrence Donilon indicated to the Boston Globe that there was no available path to extend Madu's visa.

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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.