The Adeboruwa of Igbogbo Kingdom, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, has urged residents to report cases of sexual and domestic violence, assuring them that the palace would not shield perpetrators.

The monarch gave the assurance on Wednesday at his palace shortly after a rally against sexual and gender-based violence held across Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area in Lagos.

The awareness campaign formed part of activities marking the monarch’s 10th coronation anniversary, scheduled for July 19 to 26, 2026.

Participants, including community members, marched through major roads in the LCDA carrying placards with inscriptions such as ‘real men don’t abuse women’, ‘protect the rights of women and girls’, ‘Stop the violence, break the bias’, and ‘stand against all forms of domestic and sexual violence in Igbogbo’.

Speaking at the event, Oba Kasali described sexual and gender-based violence as a growing global concern and called for collective efforts to curb the menace.

The monarch warned that anyone found violating the law would face justice, stressing that legal provisions existed to protect all citizens.

He said, “We must all do our part to reduce the occurrence of sexual and gender-based violence in our society.

“The law is there to protect everybody, but it will deal with whoever tramples upon it.”

He urged victims and witnesses to speak up, assuring residents that reports made to the palace would be handled without fear or favour.

He also appealed to residents to obey the law and fulfil their civic responsibilities in promoting a violence-free community.

The monarch said, “We are speaking with one voice alongside NGOs and relevant Lagos State agencies against sexual and domestic violence.

“We encourage people to speak out whenever such acts occur. People should not hesitate to approach the palace. I assure you that nothing will be swept under the carpet.”

Delivering a lecture at the event, the Head of Field Operations, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Oluwakemi Bello, said domestic violence cuts across all family relationships and remains a major concern for the state government.

Bello said, “Domestic violence can happen between husband and wife, father and child, mother and child, or even children against their parents.

“The Lagos State Government does not want domestic violence because we have repeatedly seen reports of couples killing one another over disagreements.”

Speaking in an interview, the Executive Director of the Community Human Rights Foundation, Alhaji Lateef Akinborode, said data from Lagos State indicated that Ikorodu remained one of the areas with a high incidence of domestic violence.

He said, “This event is timely because when we reviewed Lagos State data on domestic violence, we realised that Ikorodu is one of the areas with the highest cases.

“Sensitisation like this is important to eradicate the menace and cleanse the community.”

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A Nigerian Catholic priest in Massachusetts has died by suicide, days after being ordered to leave the United States and return to Nigeria, where he had repeatedly said he feared for his life.

The Reverend Benjamin Okwy Madu, 54, 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.

According to Boston Globe, his home Diocese of Abakaliki had gone further, instructing him to return to Nigeria even sooner than that deadline, ahead of a new assignment scheduled to begin on August 4.

Madu had reportedly made clear he did not want to go.

In remarks to parishioners the previous month, and in a farewell message posted to his parish’s website days before his death, he said returning home was not his wish, “but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end.”

The Sunday before he died, Madu suffered a panic attack while driving to Mass and was treated at a hospital emergency room, a parishioner told the Boston Globe.

Boston Archbishop Richard Henning told fellow priests in an internal email 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.

The Archdiocese’s public statement on his death did not describe it as a suicide.

Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office confirmed Madu’s death was under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, though a spokesperson said foul play was not suspected.

However, the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition, in a statement sent to PUNCH Online and other newsrooms this week, 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,” pointing to the frozen visa renewal process under current US immigration restrictions as a factor in his death.

“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 coalition said.

Madu, who was born in Nigeria on May 15, 1972, and ordained at St Theresa Cathedral, Abakaliki, in Ebonyi State, would have marked his 25th anniversary in the priesthood on July 7, five days after his death.

He had worked in the Archdiocese of Boston for nearly six years under consecutive R-1 religious worker visas, with his most recent visa due to expire on July 29.

Boston Globe reports that Archdiocese spokesperson Terrence Donilon said there was no path to extending Madu’s visa again, citing current US immigration policy affecting Nigeria.

Madu had spoken publicly about his fear of returning to Nigeria, where priests have faced kidnappings and killings in recent years.

Arlene Lesch, a parishioner at Holy Family Church, told Boston Globe she was among those who contacted political leaders pleading for a way for Madu to remain in the US.

In a joint statement issued this week, the coalition of Nigerian diaspora and Christian advocacy organisations called on US authorities to halt deportations of Nigerians and grant Temporary Protected Status to Nigerian nationals in the country.

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The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared Thursday, July 16, 2026, as the first day of Safar 1448AH following the non-sighting of the new crescent moon across Nigeria.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Sultanate Council Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs and signed by its Chairman, Prof. Sambo Wali Junaidu, the Waziri of Sokoto.

According to the statement, the National Moonsighting Committee, in collaboration with various moonsighting committees across the country, did not receive any authenticated report confirming the sighting of the Safar crescent on Tuesday, July 14, corresponding to the 29th of Muharram 1448AH.

“The Sultanate Council Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, in conjunction with the National Moonsighting Committee, did not receive any report from various moonsighting committees across the country confirming the sighting of the crescent of Safar 1448AH on Tuesday, 14th July, 2026, equivalent to 29th Muharram 1448AH,” the statement said.

It added that, “Therefore, Wednesday, 15th July, 2026, will be the 30th of Muharram 1448AH.”

Based on the report, the Sultan approved the completion of the current Islamic month and declared the commencement of the new month on Thursday.

“His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has accepted the report and accordingly declared Thursday, 16th July, 2026, as the first day of Safar 1448AH,” the statement added.

The declaration marks the beginning of the second month of the Islamic calendar. It serves as the official guide for Muslims across Nigeria in observing religious activities tied to the Hijri calendar.

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