By Abiemwense Moru, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
For decades, Nigeria’s response to attempted suicide has been rooted in criminal law.
Those who attempt suicide have potentially faced prosecution rather than immediate medical and psychological support.
Under Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, attempting to take one’s own life is a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in prison.
Similarly, under Section 231 of the Penal Code, attempted suicide is punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine, or both.
However, some northern states have adopted or amended related provisions with different penalties, making the legal position vary across jurisdictions.
Against this background, many believe the Federal Executive Council’s approval to decriminalise attempted suicide goes beyond legal reform.
They say it could signal a shift in how Nigerian society responds to suicidal distress.
At the centre of the reform is the argument that suicide attempts may require mental health intervention, compassion and sustained support rather than prosecution.
Consequently, health authorities, mental health advocates and suicide prevention organisations have welcomed the decision, saying it could help remove barriers that discourage distressed Nigerians from seeking help.
The Nigerian Mental Health and Nigeria Suicide Prevention Advocacy Working Group, recently said the decision could help reposition self-harm as a public health concern instead of a criminal offence.
For instance, Chime Asonye, Founder of Nigerian Mental Health, captured the change simply, “A person who survives a suicide attempt needs a clinician, not a charge sheet”.
His words point to the practical consequence of criminalisation, where fear of arrest or public exposure can drive survivors away from hospitals, families and other sources of support during crises.
Beyond the legal argument, the scale of suicide and attempted suicide underscores why the reform matters.
According to figures cited by advocates from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria records thousands of suicide deaths annually, alongside an estimated 300,000 suicide attempts each year.
However, estimates vary considerably.
WHO’s 2021 global health estimates put Nigeria’s suicide deaths at 10,912, with an age-standardised suicide rate of 15.1 per 100,000 people.
That variation also highlights the challenges surrounding suicide data in Nigeria.
Advocates say suicide cases are widely under-reported because fear of legal consequences compounds the stigma surrounding suicide.
Moreover, WHO says that for every suicide, there are likely to be more than 20 people who attempt suicide, although the ratio varies by country, region, sex, age and method.
Advocates estimate that each suicide death leaves an average of six or seven relatives with lasting psychosocial needs.
By this estimate, as many as 450,000 Nigerians may be affected by suicide in a single year.
Although official sources provide varying estimates, the reported scale underscores the need for reliable national surveillance, accessible services and compassionate responses for people experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Against this backdrop, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said the Federal Executive Council approved the amendment, paving the way for legislative consideration by the National Assembly.
Pate explained that attempted suicide remained criminalised through colonial-era provisions of the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code, in spite of supportive-care principles contained in Nigeria’s Mental Health Act.
He said the existing framework discouraged help-seeking behaviour and created an inconsistency with the National Mental Health Act 2021, which provides protection, treatment and support for people at risk.
“The idea is attempted suicide is not a crime, this legal approach discourages help-seeking behaviours and conflicts with our mental health policy and Mental Health Act,” Pate said.
According to the minister, the amendment followed consultations involving the Ministries of Health and Social Welfare and Justice, mental health advocates, the Attorney-General’s Office and lawmakers.
The Federal Government has since framed decriminalisation as both a public health and human rights imperative, reflecting a growing understanding that punishment may deepen vulnerability during mental health emergencies.
In addition, the ministry has introduced a National Suicide Strategic Framework (2023–2030), identifying risk and protective factors, strategic objectives and indicators for suicide prevention in line with international best practices.
Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, said the reform would replace punishment with care, support and appropriate intervention for people experiencing mental health crises.
Salako, represented by Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom, said Nigeria remained among a shrinking number of countries where attempted suicide was still criminalised, amid evolving approaches to mental health and human rights elsewhere.
To support the reform, he said government had established a National Task Force on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide, bringing together government institutions, academia, professional bodies, civil society and development partners.
The task force conducted stakeholder consultations, engaged policymakers across the three arms of government, developed a Government White Paper, and supported advocacy and sensitisation activities on suicide prevention.
Nevertheless, advocates insist that changing the law cannot, by itself, resolve Nigeria’s suicide crisis, because people in distress still face inadequate services, stigma, misinformation, poverty and social exclusion.
To support this, Prof. Taiwo Sheikh, Convener of the Nigeria Suicide Prevention Advocacy Working Group, said the proposed amendment and the National Suicide Prevention Bill 2024 are complementary parts of a broader reform.
It is worth noting that the bill was separately sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong.
“The amendment and the National Suicide Prevention Bill are two halves of one reform. One removes the punishment, the other builds what should be there instead,” Sheikh said.
He warned that passing only the amendment would leave significant gaps because Nigeria still needs a comprehensive system for suicide prevention, crisis intervention, data collection, funding and specialised training.
“Passing one without the other leaves the work unfinished,” Sheikh said, urging lawmakers to act during the current legislative session and warning that delays could translate into preventable deaths.
In practical terms, the proposed National Suicide Prevention Bill is expected to provide a structured framework for collecting suicide and suicidality data, strengthening crisis services, financing interventions and preparing frontline responders.
For advocates, such measures are essential because reliable evidence remains limited, making it difficult to identify patterns, vulnerable populations, geographical gaps and priority areas requiring sustained intervention.
Dr Tunde Ojo, National Coordinator of the National Mental Health Programme, acknowledged that Nigeria currently lacks comprehensive national mental health indicators needed to guide effective planning and evaluation.
“Currently, we do not have mental health indicators for the country, but there are plans underway,” Ojo said, adding that a first draft was expected before year-end.
Better information, he said, could help authorities identify patterns, vulnerable populations, geographic gaps and service needs, enabling interventions to move beyond assumptions towards evidence-based planning and measurable national targets.
Meanwhile, Ojo added that mental health had been integrated into the Non-Communicable Diseases Programme, with the first level of integration dating back to 2022 through the national masterplan.
However, implementation remains uneven, while access to mental health services varies across communities and regions.
Dr Charles Nzelu, Director of Public Health, said the National Mental Health Programme continued providing strategic leadership for mental health promotion, suicide prevention, policy implementation and health-worker capacity building.
He said community-based interventions and partnerships were being strengthened, while stakeholder engagement and evidence generation remained important components of the national response.
“Such community approaches matter because suicidal distress does not occur only inside hospitals.
“Families, schools, workplaces, religious institutions, traditional structures and primary healthcare facilities can all provide opportunities for early intervention”.
Even so, the workforce meant to carry out the reform remains limited.
Nigeria has fewer than 1,000 psychiatrists serving a population of more than 200 million, according to the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, while the number is shrinking as professionals leave the country.
Dr Veronica Nyamali, the association’s President, said decriminalisation could encourage people to seek help by reducing fear of criminal consequences.
She, however, warned that Nigeria’s psychiatric and broader mental health workforce remained inadequate.
“We cannot do this work alone,” Nyamali said, emphasising the need to implement the National Mental Health Act and build a broader framework for organising services.
“The workforce challenge is significant because legal reform can create expectations for care that health systems may struggle to fulfil without sufficient professionals, medicines, facilities and referral pathways.
“Access is worse still in areas affected by conflict, she added.
Dr Juan Carlos of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted that distance, insecurity and treatment costs compound vulnerability in such communities.
He commended the decriminalisation initiative but called for continued advocacy to domesticate and implement the Mental Health Policy at state level, bringing services closer to people through primary healthcare.
Similarly, Kachollom said the ministry was working towards greater integration of mental health services into other health programmes while examining implementation gaps that could weaken access and continuity.
She also acknowledged shortcomings in public awareness and the availability of mental health information, saying the ministry would strengthen sensitisation and provide more data to guide interventions.
Television, radio and other communication platforms, she said, would be used to increase awareness about mental health and available support services, helping communities recognise distress earlier.
Beyond policy and services, Sheikh said Nigeria’s prevailing suicide narrative remains shaped by discrimination, exclusion and stigma, with legal, cultural and social factors reinforcing harmful responses towards vulnerable people.
Criminalisation can silence people experiencing distress, he explained, while cultural practices may treat survivors and their families harshly, creating shame that discourages disclosure, treatment and future help-seeking.
Also, Mr Zion Abba of Mandate Health Empowerment Initiative urged stakeholders to look beyond prevention, care and treatment and address the social and economic factors contributing to suicide attempts.
These include unemployment, poverty, family conflict, violence, isolation, substance use, displacement and untreated mental illness.
Ultimately, legal reform can remove one obstacle, but lasting progress requires systems that help people before a crisis becomes acute, provide rapid intervention during emergencies and sustain support afterwards.
Overall, the Federal Government’s National Task Force brings together legal experts, mental health professionals, government institutions, civil society and people with lived experience.
Advocates say including people with lived experience is important because policies developed without their perspectives may overlook practical barriers such as fear, stigma, confidentiality concerns, transport costs and uncertainty about where to seek help.
Therefore, decriminalisation could mark a significant change if the National Assembly completes the legislative process and the government backs it with sustained investment, implementation, accountability and public education.
The Nigerian Mental Health and Nigeria Suicide Prevention Advocacy Working Group has urged the National Assembly to expedite the process, saying delays could prolong challenges faced by people experiencing suicidal distress. (NANFeatures)
Edited by Tosin Kolade
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