Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday insisted that Nigerians who survive suicide attempts should face imprisonment, declaring that “if you attempt suicide, make sure you die”, as senators pushed a bill seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide through second reading.
Akpabio argued that removing criminal penalties for attempted suicide could encourage the act, insisting that those who attempted suicide but survived should be punished.
“If you attempt suicide, make sure you die. Anyone who attempts and fails will go to jail,” he declared.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Asuquo (APC, Cross River South), seeks to establish a legal framework for suicide prevention, decriminalise attempted suicide and provide support for survivors.
Titled “A Bill to Establish a Framework for Suicide Prevention, Decriminalise Attempted Suicide and Provide for the Establishment of Support for Persons Who Attempt Suicide, and for Related Matters, 2026 (SB.730)”, the bill scaled second reading during plenary on Tuesday.
It was subsequently referred to the Senate Committees on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative action.
Akpabio also called for the involvement of state Houses of Assembly during a public hearing on the bill, saying the legislation required careful consideration because of its implications for the Criminal Code, Penal Code and state laws.
Leading the debate, Asuquo said the bill sought to address the contradiction between existing criminal laws that punish attempted suicide and the National Mental Health Act, which recognises mental health emergencies as requiring medical intervention.
“Our law presently speaks with two voices,” he explained, arguing that the inconsistency exposed survivors to criminal prosecution when they should be receiving medical care.
“At the heart of this bill is a simple question. When a Nigerian survives a suicide attempt, should the first response of the state be persecution or protection?” he asked.
Asuquo cited Section 327 of the Criminal Code and Section 231 of the Penal Code, which criminalise attempted suicide, arguing that the provisions conflicted with the need to provide appropriate care for people experiencing mental health emergencies.
The lawmaker warned that criminalising suicide attempts could discourage distressed individuals from seeking help, encourage families to conceal incidents and prevent health workers from reporting cases promptly.
According to him, the practice could also deepen mental health stigma and undermine efforts to obtain reliable data for national suicide prevention programmes.
Asuquo stated, “The police station or correctional facility should not be the default destination for a person who requires urgent clinical care.”
The proposed legislation would provide for coordinated suicide prevention services, crisis response mechanisms, referral pathways and continuing support for people who survive suicide attempts.
It would also promote public education and training for health workers, teachers, law enforcement personnel and emergency responders to help them identify warning signs and connect people at risk with appropriate services.
Asuquo, however, cautioned that decriminalisation alone would not address the problem without accessible medical and psychological care, adequate institutional arrangements and funding.
He urged his colleagues to support the bill, saying Nigeria needed a system that recognised psychological distress and intervened before a crisis became irreversible.
Supporting the proposal, Senator Dayo Faduyile (APC, Ondo South), a medical practitioner, said attempted suicide should be treated as a medical emergency rather than a criminal offence.
“The best way to treat anybody who did not succumb to a suicide attempt is actually not to criminalise it. They need help,” he said.
Faduyile argued that depression and other mental health conditions could impair a person’s judgement, making treatment and recovery more appropriate responses than imprisonment.
He warned that taking survivors to police stations or correctional facilities would not address the underlying conditions that led to their attempts.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) also welcomed the bill, describing it as an important legal and public health issue that deserved greater attention.
Ningi said the second reading would allow the proposal to undergo further scrutiny and provide an opportunity for medical practitioners, psychologists and other stakeholders to contribute to the debate.
He argued that suicide attempts required a broader understanding of mental health challenges and the social pressures confronting individuals, adding that people struggling to cope with difficult circumstances should not automatically be treated as criminals.
However, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) cautioned that the applicability of some provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act varied across states, depending on the legal frameworks adopted by their respective Houses of Assembly.
He said the Senate needed to establish the extent to which the proposed amendments would apply nationally before proceeding with the legislation.
The bill will now undergo further consideration by the relevant committees, including scrutiny of its legal implications and the appropriate framework for implementing suicide prevention and support services across the country.