Suicide takes centre-stage as Vanguard’s 3rd mental health summit opens
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Suicide IS on the front burner as an array of enlightened speakers and panellists gather to deliberate on critical issues around mental health, in continuation of the public enlightenment and education on mental health in Nigeria, as Vanguard hosts the third edition of its Mental Health Summit Series.
This year’s Summit will confront Nigeria’s escalating suicide crisis and the often-overlooked intersection with substance abuse. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Nigerian youth aged 15 to 29 even as 450,000 Nigerians need mental health and psychosocial support every year due to suicide-related trauma.
The Summit, themed “Taming the tide of suicide in Nigeria”, with sub-theme: “Substance and Silence: Unmasking the Dual Crisis of Addiction and Suicide” is designed to rekindle awareness on mental health, tackle the challenges surrounding the management of the various mental disorders, and mitigate their effects on the community.
As the forum opens at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, it is expected, once again, to bring together policymakers, mental health professionals, survivors, media leaders, and youth advocates to drive urgent conversations around decriminalisation, stigma reduction, and community-based care.
As the conversation continues, expectation for a humane legal system for suicide prevention is top on the expected outcomes. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank data, an estimated 11,000 Nigerians died by suicide in 2021, while over 200,000 others attempted it and survived.
With Nigeria’s 2021 population placed at about 218.5 million, the WHO’s reported suicide rate of 4.9 to 5 deaths per 100,000 people translates to roughly 10,900 to 11,000 deaths that year.
For every suicide death, experts estimate there are at least 20 non-fatal attempts, suggesting that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians may be struggling silently with suicidal thoughts and behaviour.
While the figures place Nigeria below the global average suicide rate of 8.9 per 100,000, mental health specialists warn that under-reporting, stigma, and poor data systems mean the true burden may be higher, even as many deaths go unrecorded or are misclassified as accidents due to cultural and religious sensitivities, or fear of arrest under Nigeria’s Criminal Code, which criminalises attempted suicide.
Legal scholars and advocacy groups unite in verdict that the law in suicide no longer belongs in a modern, compassionate society.
The Chairman, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) representing Cross River South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who is the Special Guest of Honour at the Summit, will give remarks about the Suicide Decriminalisation Bill currently before the National Assembly.
The Bill which has passed the second reading on the floor of the National Assembly, is a landmark legislative effort aimed at shifting the country’s approach to suicide from punishment to prevention and care.
It is seeking to repeal colonial-era laws that criminalise attempted suicide under Sections 327 and 231 of Nigeria’s Criminal and Penal Codes, which currently impose up to one year jail term for survivors of suicide attempts. Rather, the bill proposes a health-centered, rights-based framework that treats suicide as a public health issue, not a crime.
The Summit is set to deepen the national conversation on mental health demand urgent attention around the country’s outdated criminal law on attempted suicide as mental-health experts, legal scholars and advocacy groups unite in verdict that the law in suicide no longer belongs in a modern, compassionate society. The argument is that by threatening punishment, the existing law drives vulnerable people and their families underground.
