The African Democratic Congress has condemned Senate President Godswill Akpabio over his reported “seven virgins” remark during a debate on attempted suicide, describing it as insensitive and inappropriate for a discussion on mental health.
The party also faulted Akpabio’s reported support for imprisonment as punishment for failed suicide attempts, urging lawmakers to treat suicide attempts as a mental health concern rather than a criminal offence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the Senate President’s comment risked introducing religious stereotypes into a debate that should focus on protecting human life.
Akpabio reportedly made the remark during Tuesday’s Senate plenary while lawmakers considered the National Suicide Prevention Bill.
In a video that subsequently circulated online, the Senate President was heard saying, amid laughter, that “why death may be attractive to some young people is that they have seven virgins waiting for them.”
Reacting, the ADC said, “We find the ‘seven virgins’ remark particularly disturbing because it introduces religious stereotyping into a discussion that should be about protecting human life. Such a lurid comment is not only careless and insensitive. It also trivialises an issue that is, literally speaking, a matter of life and death.”
The party argued that people who survive suicide attempts require support and access to mental healthcare, rather than the threat of prosecution and imprisonment.
It described the criminalisation of attempted suicide as a colonial-era inheritance that should be abolished, accusing the Senate President of defending a punitive approach to people experiencing severe psychological distress.
“The criminalisation of attempted suicide is a colonial legacy. These laws belong to an era when people experiencing profound distress were treated as offenders … rather than as human beings in need of care,” the statement read in part.
The ADC expressed disappointment that the Senate President had reportedly supported retaining imprisonment as a penalty when lawmakers had an opportunity to reform the law.
“It is shameful that, when presented with an opportunity to reform this punitive inheritance, the head of the Senate chose to champion its preservation. Nigeria cannot continue to punish people for surviving a crisis that nearly claimed their lives, especially when those who handed us those laws have long abolished them,” the party added.
The opposition party further argued that threatening suicide survivors with imprisonment could discourage vulnerable people from seeking help or disclosing suicidal thoughts.
“A position that leaves a suicidal person with only the choice of death or imprisonment does not discourage suicide. It encourages it,” the ADC said.
The party warned that such an approach could have unintended consequences by reinforcing the desperation of people already experiencing a mental health crisis.
The controversy comes amid wider calls for Nigeria to strengthen its mental health services and review laws governing suicide attempts. Under Section 231 of the Criminal Code applicable in southern Nigeria, attempting to kill oneself is a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment. Section 327 of the Penal Code applicable in northern Nigeria also criminalises attempted suicide.
Mental health advocates have long argued that criminal penalties can deepen the stigma surrounding suicidal distress and discourage people from seeking timely medical assistance.
The ADC called on lawmakers to adopt a more compassionate approach that prioritises prevention, counselling, treatment and support for people experiencing suicidal thoughts or surviving suicide attempts.
The party maintained that protecting human life should remain the central consideration in any legislation intended to prevent suicide.
Akpabio’s reported comments have drawn attention to the tension between punitive legal provisions and growing advocacy for a public-health approach to suicide prevention. However, the precise implications of the National Suicide Prevention Bill will depend on its provisions and the outcome of the legislative process.