Mental Health, Suicide and Akpabio’s Insensitivity

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

”….If you first attempt suicide, it is a criminal offence. So, this one that you are saying that we should decriminalise it; once you decriminalise something, it’s no longer an offence. But, if you want to commit suicide, die at once. If you fail, you go to prison.” -Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, 10th National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria

World Mental Health Day 2026

The World Mental Health Day 2026 took place on October 10, themed “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”. It was first marked in 1992 as “a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma”. Many Nigerians, including Senator Akpabio, may still need to receive mental health education.

The last time I wrote about mental health, was in 2017.  Then, the National Mental Health Act 2021 (NMHA), hadn’t been enacted. I had mentioned the Mental Health Bill 2008 sponsored by Senator Anthony Manzo (which wasn’t enacted), and the fact that Nigeria was still using the outdated Lunacy Act 1958 (LA). Even the name, Lunacy Act, was inappropriate. The NMHA was sponsored by Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe in the 9th National Assembly (NASS), and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on January 5, 2023. 

I had used Mayo Clinic’s definition of mental illness: “a wide range of mental health conditions – disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviours”. The Mayo Clinic goes on to say that, though many people have mental health concerns from time to time, “a mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function”. Most mental illnesses cannot be prevented, but can be treated in several ways, including medication, psychotherapy, hospitalisation and cognitive behaviour therapy.

In October 2017, I had concluded that “Nigeria needs to step up its game, in terms of its handling of mental health illness, with regard to all aspects of it, as it is on the rise. From how we the people, perceive mental illness, less stigmatisation and poking fun at those who suffer from such ailments, to more enlightenment and understanding. It is a sickness, like any other, just of the mind and not the body. Many people are frustrated, on the edge. In countries like USA, it is the norm for people to have a session with their ‘Shrink’ (Psychiatrist) on a weekly or monthly basis, without being seen as ‘mad’, just as a Diabetic may go to hospital to check his/her blood sugar level regularly. Provision of modern day facilities to take care of patients, and an up-to-date legal framework, like the Mental Health Act in UK”. 

The National Mental Health Act 2021

The NMHA aims to establish a coherent, rights-based framework for mental health services in Nigeria, by protecting the fundamental rights of persons with mental health conditions, promoting integrated and community-based care, setting national minimum standards, facilitating recovery and rehabilitation, and creating institutional mechanisms such as the Department of Mental Health Services, Mental Health Fund, and Mental Health Assessment Committee. These objectives align closely with the UK Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended) in their shared emphasis on safeguards for involuntary admission and treatment, least-restrictive approaches, patient rights (including appeal, and protection from abuse), and a shift toward community care, while also reflecting global best practices under WHO guidance and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through their focus on non-discrimination, informed consent, independent oversight, and recovery-oriented services. 

However, nearly four years after its enactment, the implementation of the NMHA remains limited: key structures have not been fully operationalised, funding and workforce shortages persist, few States have domesticated the law, the treatment gap remains large (with only a small minority of those needing care receiving it), and related reforms such as the decriminalisation of attempted suicide are still incomplete.

Trajectory of the Laws on Attempted Suicide

Under English common law (which influenced many legal systems worldwide), suicide was treated as a felony known as “felo de se” (“felon of himself”), when a person of sound mind chose to take their own life. If the person was insane (“non compos mentis”), the act was not regarded as a crime, because there was no guilty mind.  Christian and Islamic beliefs, amongst others, also played a role in seeing suicide as a crime.

In John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. v Moore, 34 Mich. 41 (1876), a Michigan Supreme Court defined suicide thus: “Suicide means simply self-killing, just as homicide means killing another person. It is not restricted to a wrongful act or  self-murder”. It does not automatically imply that the act was wrong, criminal, or blameworthy. I believe the court, in reviewing an insurance clause in the case, drew a distinction between voluntary blameworthy self-killing, and self-killing that resulted from insanity. In short, it appears here that, whether the act of suicide is legally or morally wrongful, depends on the person’s mental state at the time. The court refused to treat the word as automatically meaning “self-murder”.

By the 19th century, views on suicide began to change towards medical explanations. England and Wales decriminalised suicide attempt in 1961, Ireland in 1993; and though many other countries have followed suit, there are still at least 20 or more countries that maintain suicide attempt in their statute books, such as Nigeria.  

Black’s Law Dictionary defines suicide as “the wilful and voluntary act of a person who understands the physical nature of the act, and intends by it to accomplish the result of self-destruction”, “the deliberate termination of one’s existence while in possession and enjoyment of his mental faculties”. It appears that in this definition, the two key elements of suicide are the voluntariness/deliberateness, and being in possession of one’s mental faculties. This aligns with the English common law which only treated self killing as a crime “felo de se” as mentioned above.

But, would the average person just decide to commit suicide? I think not. Can a person who attempts to commit suicide be adjudged to be fully in possession or control of their mental faculties, in the true sense of the word? I think not. A friend of mine who suffers from depression, once told me that sometimes, she’s completely overcome with feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and at times like that, she has tried to kill herself – almost as if she can’t help herself. This obviously cannot be a normal mental state. Her condition she said, is triggered by what she called “stressors”. 

It seems that in the old days, the word ‘insanity’ may have been used loosely to cover various mental health conditions which could lead to a person idealising or taking their own life, such as that of my friend. Is suicidal behaviour an associated feature or symptom of several mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder amongst others? It is. While not everyone who attempts suicide may suffer from any condition that meets the full criteria of a psychiatric disorder, statistics have shown that possibly up to 80% of those who die from suicide, may suffer from a diagnosable mental illness at the time they took their life. And, this is why a suicide attempt should always be treated as a medical and psychiatric emergency requiring prompt evaluation for any underlying mental health conditions and appropriate care, and not a criminal offence. 

Statistics

Nigeria still lacks comprehensive national suicide surveillance, and better data in this regard is needed. As at 2021, according to the WHO, “727,000 died by suicide globally”, with “73% occurring in low and middle income countries”. Though patterns vary by sex and location, older men usually have the highest suicide rates; suicide is also said to be a leading cause of death in the young, between the age of 15 and 29.

The Nigerian Situation 

In Nigeria, mental and financial stress, indebtedness and possibly to a lesser extent, romantic issues, are some major reasons for suicide. At a point, the Third Mainland Bridge was becoming a choice location for suicide. 

On March 19, 2017, Dr Allwell Orji, a 35 year old medical doctor who had suffered from mental health difficulties including depression, had asked his Driver to stop the vehicle on the bridge from where he jumped into the Lagos Lagoon. His body was recovered a few days later. It is reported that a few years earlier, he had attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a balcony.

In September 2016, in Akwa Ibom State, 50 year old Chief Ekanem Edet, committed suicide by hanging. He allegedly left a suicide note for President Buhari, citing economic hardship and government policies under his administration, for the drastic step he took. He said his small trade, could no longer support the basic needs of his family.

An insecticide, Sniper, has also become a choice tool for suicide. In 2024, a 32 year old marketing staff of a Bank, Amarachi Ugochukwu, committed suicide in the toilet in the Bank by ingesting Sniper. She was frustrated with life,  perceived that the economy was getting harder and her future  was bleak. 

Warning Signs of Suicide and Ways to Assist 

Common warning signs of suicide include talking about wanting to die or feeling hopeless, withdrawing from friends and activities, sudden mood changes or extreme calm after distress, increased substance use, giving away possessions, or expressing a sense of being a burden. If any of  these signs are observed, they should be taken seriously.

A listener must do so without judgement, express care, and ask directly if they are thinking of suicide. Stay with the person, help remove access to means of harm if it can be done safely, and encourage them to contact a mental health professional, helpline, or emergency services immediately. 

In Nigeria, support is available through organisations such as the Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN) or local emergency lines; do not leave a person at immediate risk alone. 

Tactlessness and Truth

Senate President Akpabio’s aforementioned statement on suicide came out as tactless and insensitive, but his statement accurately reflects the current statutory position, which is precisely why reform is needed. Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act provides thus: “Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment”. I believe the jail term is a maximum of one year imprisonment upon conviction, for attempted suicide (also see Section 231 of the Penal Code Act). Nevertheless, true statesmanship requires restraint and temperance. Inflammatory or insensitive rhetoric (or personal abuse) at the expense of good judgement, are hallmarks of a lesser politics and/or a lack of wisdom and discernment. However, the Federal Executive Council has approved an amendment to decriminalise attempted suicide; there’s also a Bill for the decriminalisation of suicide to align with the NMHA which has passed the second reading in the Senate, but, is yet to be enacted. The reform is in motion, but isn’t yet law. 

Since economic hardship is a leading cause of suicide in Nigeria, instead of so-called leaders making public insensitive statements about attempted suicide, they should start by decriminalising attempted suicide; eschew corruption; try to reduce the stress on Nigerians and the suicide rate, by implementing policies that will bring economic relief, while expanding support services for those suffering from mental health issues. Poverty and unemployment in countries like Nigeria, also increase the risk of suicide.