Last week’s reaction of Senate President Godswill Akpabio during the Senate sitting on suicide was disturbing. A senator was explaining why Nigeria should stop treating attempted suicide as a criminal offence. Instead of taking the issue seriously, Akpabio appeared amused as he said that those attempting suicide should make sure they succeeded; otherwise, they would go to prison.
Imagine what someone struggling with suicidal thoughts would feel hearing such words from the President of the Nigerian Senate. Picture a person whose problems have piled up until dying seems better than living. Now picture that person hearing one of the country’s highest-ranking public officials making light of their situation.
The controversy arose during consideration of a bill sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South. The bill seeks to decriminalise attempted suicide and establish a framework for suicide prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Ekpenyong explained that Nigeria’s existing laws could discourage people from seeking help because anyone who survives a suicide attempt risks prosecution and imprisonment. His argument was that if someone knows that surviving a suicide attempt could lead to imprisonment, that person would become even more determined not to survive.
The Senate President was concerned that removing criminal penalties might encourage more people to attempt suicide. But that reasoning is difficult to understand. How does threatening a deeply distressed person with imprisonment make that person want to live? Would compassion, counselling, medical attention and support not offer a better chance of recovery?
Suicide rarely comes out of nowhere. Suicidal behaviour is often associated with severe psychological distress, depression, trauma, hopelessness or circumstances that have become overwhelming. Sometimes, several problems come together until the individual begins to believe that there is no way out.
Consider a father who has lost his livelihood and faces mounting debts. Consider a young woman suffering persistent abuse, a student overwhelmed by failure or someone living with unbearable physical pain. Many people facing such difficulties will never contemplate suicide, but others may reach a crisis point where they struggle to see any possibility of improvement. Nobody in that position should be laughed at.
Stigma is one of the greatest problems facing mental health in Nigeria. When people experience depression, most times they are told to pray harder or simply be strong. Sometimes, they are accused of lacking faith. But in some cases, they are accused of being possessed by evil spirits. Subsequently, they are subjected to different forms of dehumanisation and exploitation in the name of casting out the evil spirits. Many people would not want to face such reactions and treatment. Therefore, they would prefer to hide the fact that they are struggling until their condition becomes much worse.
Also, our society puts enormous pressure on people to appear strong, especially men. Boys are told early in life that men don’t cry. It goes into their psyche. Later in life, the effects start to manifest. A man who loses his job or cannot meet his family’s needs becomes ashamed to discuss his difficulties.
He may even hide the fact that he lost his job or that his business is struggling. Friends and relatives may assume he is doing well because he keeps smiling in public. They may keep making financial and emotional demands of him, which worsens his situation because he cannot meet them. He may even borrow money to meet the demands or make promises to meet those demands sometime in the future. When he fails to keep that promise, people ridicule or vilify him as stingy and wicked.
That is why officials must be careful about what they say. When Akpabio comments on suicide, people hear his words with the authority of the office of the Senate President. Those words can influence how ordinary Nigerians view people who experience psychological distress. If the country’s legislative leader appears to laugh about suicide, others may feel justified in treating it as something to laugh about.
Following the backlash he received, Akpabio complained that his remarks were taken out of context. He also explained that suicide was forbidden under his Christian beliefs and raised concerns about the implications of changing existing laws. He is entitled to his religious convictions and to question the proposed legislation. Even so, neither his faith nor his doubts about the bill called for words that seem to encourage someone to die.
Section 327 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of up to one year for attempted suicide, while Section 231 of the Penal Code also criminalises the act. These provisions sit uneasily alongside Nigeria’s newer mental health legislation, which recognises the need for appropriate care and protection. Ekpenyong’s bill seeks to change the law so that people who attempt suicide get help instead of punishment.
Thankfully, not all senators agreed with Akpabio. Senator Dayo Faduyile, a medical doctor, representing Ondo South, argued that people who survive suicide attempts should receive medical care rather than imprisonment. Despite the Senate President’s objections, the bill passed second reading and was referred to the relevant committees.
Also, the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria has criticised Akpabio’s remarks and called for an apology. The association warned that threatening survivors with imprisonment could discourage people from seeking help and delay necessary treatment. Mental health professionals across the world have increasingly argued that suicide prevention should be approached primarily as a public health responsibility.
The World Health Organisation has specifically recommended the decriminalisation of suicide attempts. Countries such as Ghana, Pakistan, Singapore and Guyana have already removed criminal penalties. Supporters of decriminalisation want people to get care, and they point out that threatening punishment does nothing about what drives people towards suicidal behaviour.
In September 2026, the International Association for Suicide Prevention reaffirmed its position that criminalising attempted suicide undermines prevention efforts. It reported that there was no credible evidence that criminal punishment deters suicidal behaviour. Criminalisation can also discourage people from seeking help and make it harder for governments to understand the scale of the problem. Our lawmakers should examine this evidence carefully.
However, removing criminal penalties will not automatically solve Nigeria’s suicide problem. What happens to a person who survives an attempt but cannot afford psychiatric care? Where does someone in a rural community turn when there is no accessible mental health professional?
These are questions the proposed legislation should address. Nigeria needs affordable mental healthcare, accessible crisis services, properly trained emergency responders and stronger community support systems. Police officers should know how to respond to suicidal crises without humiliating or unnecessarily criminalising those involved. Families, schools, religious organisations and workplaces also need better education about mental health.
Akpabio has an opportunity to correct the impression his remarks created. An acknowledgement that his choice of words was inappropriate would show that he understands the responsibility that comes with leadership. Public officials become no less respected when they show compassion or admit that they could have expressed themselves better.
It is hoped that the Senate will pass legislation that replaces punishment with appropriate care and support for people who survive suicide attempts. Nobody should be made to feel that dying would have been preferable to surviving because of the consequences imposed by the law. A person who has survived a suicide attempt has already endured enough suffering. Our first response should be to help that person find a reason to live again. Punishing someone for still being alive is illogical and insensitive.
X: @BrandAzuka