Akpabio Opposes Suicide Decriminalisation as Senate Advances Bill

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has opposed moves to decriminalise attempted suicide in Nigeria, insisting that people who survive suicide attempts should face imprisonment, despite the Senate’s consideration of a bill seeking to replace criminal punishment with medical treatment and rehabilitation.

 

Akpabio made his position known during plenary on Tuesday while senators debated a proposed law seeking to establish a national framework for suicide prevention, decriminalise attempted suicide and provide support for survivors.

 

“If you attempt suicide, make sure you die. Anyone who attempts and fails will go to jail,” Akpabio said, according to reports.

 

The bill, sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who represents Cross River South Senatorial District, scaled second reading, allowing it to proceed to further legislative consideration.

 

The proposed legislation seeks to shift the country’s response to attempted suicide from criminal prosecution towards medical assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and other support services.

 

Presenting the bill, Ekpenyong argued that Nigeria’s existing legal framework contains conflicting approaches to people who survive suicide attempts.

 

He pointed to the National Mental Health Act, which provides for mental health care and intervention, alongside provisions of the Criminal Code and Penal Code that criminalise attempted suicide.

 

Section 327 of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of up to one year for a person who attempts to kill themselves.

 

Ekpenyong argued that criminalising attempted suicide could discourage people experiencing psychological distress from seeking help and encourage families to conceal such incidents for fear of legal consequences.

 

He urged lawmakers to consider whether the appropriate response to a person who survives a suicide attempt should be prosecution or protection.

 

The senator also stressed that decriminalisation alone would not adequately address the problem without accessible mental health services and sustained support for affected individuals.

 

Under the proposed framework, survivors would receive appropriate medical assessment, referral, treatment and follow-up support rather than imprisonment.

 

The bill also proposes measures including crisis helplines, public education, training for police officers, teachers and health workers, and a national data system to strengthen suicide prevention efforts.

 

Akpabio maintained that attempted suicide should remain a criminal offence, arguing that removing the penalties could encourage the act.

 

During the debate, he also raised concerns about the relationship between the Criminal Code and the Penal Code, noting that the proposed reform required careful consideration to prevent legal conflicts.

 

According to The Punch, the Senate President told Senator Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, that the Senate had yet to hold a public hearing on the proposed legislation.

 

Ekpenyong, however, maintained that the reform was necessary to address the stigma associated with suicide attempts and ensure that survivors received appropriate medical and psychological support.

 

He described attempted suicide as a mental health issue requiring intervention rather than an automatic resort to criminal punishment.

 

The disagreement places Akpabio’s position at odds with the central objective of the proposed legislation, which seeks to establish a more health-focused national response to suicide attempts.

 

The debate comes amid an ongoing Federal Government effort to remove criminal penalties for attempted suicide.

 

In a statement published on September 10, 2026, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare announced that the Federal Executive Council had approved the ministry’s position on decriminalisation.

 

The ministry said the proposal would proceed to the National Assembly for the necessary legislative process.

 

Speaking through a statement issued after the 2026 World Suicide Prevention Day commemoration in Abuja, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said people experiencing mental health crises should receive care and support rather than punishment.

 

The ministry also identified the National Mental Health Act, 2021, the National Mental Health Policy, 2023, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework 2023–2030 among the policy instruments underpinning the country’s mental health response.

 

It further disclosed that a National Task Force on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide had been established to coordinate consultations, policy discussions and advocacy on the proposed reform.

 

The government’s position reflects an effort to change the treatment of attempted suicide within the country’s legal and public health systems.

 

However, the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the ministry’s position does not, by itself, establish that the relevant criminal provisions have been repealed.

 

The proposed bill’s passage through second reading does not mean it has become law.

 

According to reports by Channels Television and The Punch, the Senate referred the bill to the relevant committees on health and judiciary for further legislative consideration, including a public hearing.

 

The committee stage will provide an opportunity for lawmakers and other stakeholders to examine the proposals and consider their implications for Nigeria’s existing criminal laws and mental health framework.

 

Until the legislative process produces an enacted change, the existing criminal provisions remain relevant to the legal position on attempted suicide.

 

The central question before lawmakers is whether people who survive suicide attempts should continue to face criminal prosecution or receive medical intervention and support under a revised legal framework.