The Federal Government has advanced Nigeria’s mental health reform with the approval of a proposed amendment to the country’s health legislation to decriminalise attempted suicide and the decision to transmit the Bill to the National Assembly for consideration.
The National Task Force on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide, chaired by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, described the Federal Executive Council’s approval as a significant development in Nigeria’s mental health reform journey and an important step towards aligning the country’s laws with its evolving public health, mental health and human rights commitments.
The National Task Force was inaugurated by the Federal Government on October 10, 2024, with a mandate to facilitate strategic stakeholder engagement, build public understanding of the need for decriminalisation, mobilise support and develop a government-wide position on the reform.
This was followed by the revised National Mental Health Policy 2023 and the National Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework 2023–2030, providing stronger policy and strategic foundations for mental health promotion and suicide prevention.
However, while Nigeria was strengthening its mental health policy and developing a national suicide prevention framework, attempted suicide remained criminalised under Section 327 of the Criminal Code and Section 231 of the Penal Code.
