‘Criminalization of attempted suicide, serious impediment to its prevention in Nigeria’

A medical expert, Dr Adegboyega Ogunwale says that the unhelpful and ineffective criminalization of attempted suicide in Nigeria criminal law continues to constitute a serious impediment to suicide prevention in the country.

Ogunwale, a chief consultant psychiatrist, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta spoke at the Asido Foundation’s January 2022 Interactive monthly community engagement webinar titled ‘Criminalisation of Suicide Attempts in Nigeria: To Stay or To go’. He said one of the steps in suicide prevention is to let the criminalization of attempted suicide go.

According to him, although the main aim of the criminalisation of attempted suicide has been to discourage killing oneself, approximately one million persons commit suicide globally on an annual basis just as for every suicide case, there were also 10 to 20 attempts.

He added: “Prior to the abolition of the “crime” of suicide in the United Kingdom in 1961, there were roughly about 5,000 suicides a year; the legal sanction did not succeed as a deterrent. On the face value, it would appear that an inverse relationship could exist between sanctions and suicide rates.

“But the reliability of reported rates for the countries with sanctions is in itself affected by the mere presence of these sanctions. Research has not concluded that legal sanctions against attempted suicide work. There is evidence that it may even increase the risk of completed suicide.

“Review of research findings has suggested that a vast majority of suicide attempters who succeed suffer from diagnosable mental disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, substance dependence, schizophrenia and some personality disorders.”

The Psychiatrist, however, stated that there is room for mental health services to intervene at the ideation or intention, planning and preparation stages of the spectrum of suicidality rather than wait till the legally recognized attempt to commit suicide.

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Dr Ogunwale, therefore, asked for concerted and multi-disciplinary advocacy in the push for the decriminalization of attempted suicide as well as an appropriate review of relevant existing health laws so as to provide the enabling clinic-legal environment for suicide prevention strategies.

He declared that knowledge based on scientific evidence, public support to demonstrate political will and social strategy led by the government are crucial ingredients to ensure decriminalization of attempted suicide in the country.

Project Director, Suicide Is No Solution, Mr Toye Arulogun stated that the government is not responding appropriately to mental health in Nigeria, noting that many cases of suicide occurred when, in some cases, a phone call would have saved the victim.

Chief Executive Officer, Asido Foundation, Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, stated that individuals need resilience and the ability to overcome adversity, perseverance and surmount the odds to cope particularly in environments where there is a lot of shame, stigma and discrimination for mental health issues.

According to him, the foundation was established to counter the ocean of ignorance, shame and stigma around mental health.