- Advocacy group says decriminalising attempted suicide means nothing without funded mental health services
A Nigerian civil society group on Wednesday condemned remarks attributed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who reportedly said that people who attempt suicide and survive should be jailed. The group called the position “state-endorsed despair.”
The Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA) issued the criticism a day after the Senate advanced a bill to decriminalise attempted suicide.
The Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading the bill to establish a suicide prevention framework, decriminalise attempted suicide and provide support for survivors (SB.730). It was sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who represents Cross River South. The bill would replace punishment with medical assessment, referral, treatment and follow-up care. It also proposes crisis helplines, training for police officers, teachers and health workers, public education and a national suicide data system. It has been referred to the Senate committees on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) and on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
In a press statement signed by CODWA Executive Director, Comrade Taiwo Omoniyi Otitolaye, on Wednesday, the civil society group raised serious concerns over the plight of distressed individuals and the growing mental health crisis in the country.
CODWA said Akpabio opposed the measure during the debate. It quoted him as saying: “If you attempt suicide, make sure you die. Anyone who attempts and fails will go to jail.”
In its statement, CODWA said that position punishes pain, deepens stigma, discourages people from seeking help and pushes families to conceal attempts. It also said the stance destroys data needed for prevention and could push a distressed person to make sure an attempt is fatal to avoid prosecution.
Nigerian law currently sends mixed signals. Section 327 of the Criminal Code makes attempted suicide a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in prison, and Section 231 of the Penal Code carries a similar penalty. The National Mental Health Act, signed into law on January 5, 2023, treats attempted suicide as a psychiatric emergency requiring treatment, not punishment. It replaced the Lunacy Act of 1958 and guarantees informed consent, confidentiality and humane treatment.
CODWA said the Act has yet to be implemented, citing a warning from the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria. It said the country has no nationwide crisis helplines, no funded stabilisation centres for survivors, and no working referral system from communities to primary health care and specialist hospitals. It added that fewer than 3 percent of Nigerians with mental health conditions have health insurance.
The group also pointed to a shortage of specialists. Nigeria has fewer than 300 psychiatrists for more than 220 million people, roughly one for every 880,000, according to figures cited in the statement. The group said about 20 percent of Nigerians suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder and 80 percent receive no treatment.
CODWA cited a suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 people, against a global average of 10.3. That equates to about 16,000 deaths a year, or one every 33 minutes, with half among people under 34. It also cited figures of more than 7,000 suicide deaths and about 300,000 attempts annually. These numbers vary across sources.
“We cannot jail our way out of this crisis,” the group said, adding that survivors are routinely handed to police, charged and exposed to the media instead of receiving care.
CODWA said it backs decriminalisation but called it “incomplete and dishonest” without accessible care. It urged the Senate, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and state governments to amend the Criminal and Penal Codes while keeping offences for aiding or counselling suicide. It also called for funded regulations to implement the Mental Health Act and for mental health services to be integrated into primary health care. Its other demands included crisis helplines, stabilisation centres, expanded insurance coverage, and public hearings with state assemblies and civil society.
“A survivor in distress deserves a counsellor, a referral slip, and a follow-up call, not a cell, a charge sheet, and a criminal record,” said Otitolaye.
The Senate has not set a date for committee hearings on the bill. Akpabio’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please reach out to a trusted person or a local mental health professional.
