The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has said that anyone who attempts suicide in Nigeria must succeed or risk being sent to prison, as the Senate debated a bill seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide and establish a framework for suicide prevention.
Akpabio made the remark during Tuesday’s plenary which SaharaReporters monitored, while Senator Asuquo was explaining the provisions and objectives of the proposed legislation.
Presenting the bill, Asuquo said it would replace the criminal punishment for attempted suicide with a system focused on medical assessment, treatment, referral and continued support for survivors.
“The bill goes beyond removing criminal penalties. It establishes a coherent legal and institutional framework through which government agencies, health facilities, first responders and communities can prevent suicide and respond effectively when a person is at risk,” the senate president said.
He explained that under the proposed framework, people who survive suicide attempts would receive appropriate clinical care rather than face prosecution and imprisonment.
“A police station or correctional facility should not be the default destination for a person who requires urgent clinical care,” Asuquo said.
He added that the bill would also provide a basis for coordinated suicide prevention services, including crisis helplines, referral pathways and follow-up support for survivors.
Explaining the consequences of criminalising attempted suicide, the senator said the existing law could encourage people attempting suicide to ensure that they died rather than survive and face prosecution.
Responding, Akpabio asked whether the proposed law was intended to prevent people from succeeding in their suicide attempts.
Asuquo answered in the affirmative but clarified that the problem was the threat of imprisonment for those who survived.
“The fact that you can go to jail and go to prison for attempting and surviving suicide ensures that the person attempting suicide will do everything within his power to ensure that he kills himself,” he said.
Akpabio, however, maintained that attempted suicide remained a criminal offence under the existing legal framework.
“But that’s what we are saying now, that as far as we are concerned, we are saying that suicide is a crime for now. And therefore, if you attempt it, you better succeed. If you don’t succeed, we will send you to prison,” the Senate President said.
He subsequently added that a person who failed to die by suicide could be sent to prison and later rehabilitated.
The exchange highlighted the central argument behind the proposed legislation: whether survivors of suicide attempts should face criminal prosecution or receive medical and psychological support.
The bill seeks to shift the response from punishment to prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, with the aim of ensuring that people experiencing suicidal crises can access appropriate care.
The outcome of the Senate’s consideration of the proposed legislation was not immediately clear.
