The Federal Executive Council’s approval of an amendment to decriminalise attempted suicide marks the latest and most significant step yet in Nigeria’s effort to move from punishment to prevention. Instrumental to this outcome has been the National Taskforce on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide, inaugurated in October 2024 and chaired by Professor Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and civil society organisations.
The amendment was developed by the National Taskforce and further refined through consultations with the Ministries of Health and Justice, the Attorney General’s office, and mental health advocates. It is now due to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
As the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, explained, the reform is driven by the recognition that attempted suicide should not be treated as a crime and that a person who survives an attempt deserves medical attention and psychosocial support rather than arrest and prosecution. Decriminalisation is the door opener through which Nigeria can strengthen its response to suicide, a challenge that criminalisation has plainly failed to deter.
This progress is the clearest sign yet that the National Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework (NSPSF) (2023 to 2030) developed by the Federal Ministry of Health is now delivering on one of its central commitments. The framework’s objective is to reduce Nigeria’s suicide rate through cost-effective programmes and health and socioeconomic interventions that change behaviour and lifestyle, reaching the general population as well as groups known to be at higher risk.
It commits Nigeria to the wider global goal, shared with the World Health Organization and the Sustainable Development Goals, of cutting suicide rates by a third by 2030, and the government has now set its own national target of a 15 percent reduction in suicide