The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved an amendment to Nigeria's National Mental Health Act that seeks to decriminalise attempted suicide, shifting the official response from criminal prosecution towards mental health care, support and rehabilitation. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, announced the decision after the FEC meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. The change is not yet law; the amendment must still pass through the National Assembly before attempted suicide can be formally decriminalised.
Current Legal Framework and the Proposed Shift
Under Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, attempting to take one's own life is an offence punishable by up to one year in prison. A separate provision, Section 231 of the Penal Code, also criminalises attempted suicide. The two provisions do not apply in the same geographical areas: the Criminal Code operates principally in southern Nigeria, while the Penal Code applies in northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
Professor Pate cited World Health Organisation estimates indicating that Nigeria records more than 7,000 suicide deaths and about 300,000 suicide attempts each year. He also stated that more than 450,000 people require psychosocial support annually. The proposed reform is intended to prioritise treatment and psychological support for people who survive suicide attempts, rather than subjecting them to the criminal justice system.
Why the Government Wants to Move from Punishment to Care
Someone who has attempted suicide is likely to be in a serious state of psychological distress and may need immediate intervention. Sending that person into the criminal justice system can add another layer of fear to an already difficult situation. It may also discourage people from seeking help or make families reluctant to report a crisis. The proposed amendment would instead emphasise mental health assessment, treatment, psychosocial support and rehabilitation.
This is also an attempt to bring Nigeria's laws closer together. The National Mental Health Act provides a framework for protecting and treating people experiencing mental health challenges, while the older criminal provisions continue to punish attempted suicide. The reform seeks to resolve that tension.
What Happens After an Attempt Under the New Proposal
The Federal Government wants a stronger focus on suicide prevention and mental health support as it targets a 15% reduction in suicide cases by 2030. If the amendment eventually becomes law, the intended response would be significantly different. Instead of automatically approaching a survivor through the criminal justice system, the emphasis would be on determining what support the person needs and connecting them with appropriate care. That could include medical treatment after an attempt, psychological assessment, counselling, follow-up care and other forms of psychosocial support.
The idea is not that an attempted suicide should simply be ignored because it is no longer a crime. Quite the opposite: the reform is based on the argument that a crisis should trigger more care, not less. Until the relevant legal provisions are changed, the existing criminal provisions remain applicable.
Next Steps and Broader Challenges
The reform comes after years of advocacy and legislative efforts. In 2022, for example, a bill sponsored by former lawmaker Francis Waive sought to replace the prison punishment for attempted suicide with counselling and community service. Removing the threat of prosecution could make it easier for people in crisis to seek help, but it cannot by itself prevent suicide. Nigeria will also need accessible mental health services, trained professionals, effective crisis intervention, reliable data and sustained suicide-prevention programmes.
The proposed law could change what happens after a suicide attempt. The bigger challenge will be ensuring that people can get enough support before they reach that point.
