The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved an amendment to the National Mental Health Act to decriminalise attempted suicide in Nigeria. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, disclosed that the reform is targeted at reducing suicide deaths and attempts by 15 per cent by 2030.
Briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting at the State House, Abuja, Pate said suicide remains a major public health concern in Nigeria and globally, citing World Health Organisation data showing it is responsible for more than 7,000 deaths annually in the country, with an estimated 300,000 suicide attempts recorded each year. “The impact extends beyond the individuals involved; it affects families, friends and communities, with over 450,000 Nigerians requiring psychosocial support annually,” he said.
He explained that despite this burden, attempted suicide remains criminalised under colonial-era legislation, Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 231 of the Penal Code, which treat individuals experiencing psychological distress as offenders rather than persons in need of care and support. “Attempting suicide is not a crime. If someone, because of mental health illness, attempts to harm themselves within the context of those colonial-era laws, you can arrest them and prosecute them for breaking the law. But these are people that are actually ill. It’s like getting somebody who has tuberculosis and asking, ‘Why did you have tuberculosis?’ So it’s changing the paradigm to one whereby they require care and support,” he said.
The decriminalisation of attempted suicide is a landmark reform. For decades, Nigerians who attempted suicide have been treated as criminals rather than patients. The colonial-era laws criminalised a public health issue, discouraging people from seeking help. The amendment will align Nigeria’s laws with the National Mental Health Act 2021, which provides for supportive care, protection and treatment for individuals at risk of self-harm. The target of reducing suicide deaths and attempts by 15 per cent by 2030 is ambitious, but achievable if the government invests in mental health services.
This echoes the 2018 mental health reforms in South Africa, which also decriminalised attempted suicide. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a recognition that mental health is a public health issue, not a criminal one.
The winners: Nigerians at risk of suicide, who will no longer face prosecution; and the Nigerian mental health system, which will be better aligned with international standards. The losers: the colonial-era laws, which are being repealed; and the Nigerian government, which must invest in mental health services.
Bottom Line: Attempted suicide will no longer be a crime. The law is finally catching up with humanity. The question is whether the government will invest in the mental health services needed to support those in crisis.