"If you attempt suicide, make sure you die. Anyone who attempts and fails will go to jail." That's not a movie line. That's what Nigeria's Senate President said on the floor of the Senate this week. And it has sparked a massive debate.

The Senate just passed a bill for second reading that wants to do something quite radical - stop treating suicide attempts as a crime.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong from Cross River South, is asking a very simple but powerful question: when someone survives a suicide attempt, should the state prosecute them or protect them?

Right now, Nigeria's laws are totally contradictory. The National Mental Health Act of 2023 says attempted suicide is a psychiatric emergency that needs treatment. But two old colonial-era laws - Section 327 of the Criminal Code and Section 231 of the Penal Code - still say it's a crime punishable by up to one year in prison.

Senator Ekpenyong says that contradiction is dangerous. It makes families hide attempts, it stops people from seeking help, and it means we have terrible data.

And the numbers are staggering. According to the World Health Organisation, Nigeria records around 300,000 suicide attempts and over 7,000 deaths every year. Some estimates put deaths as high as 15,000. Global evidence shows criminalising it doesn't actually stop it.

Imagine a young graduate in Lagos, overwhelmed by unemployment and anxiety, who survives an attempt. Instead of a counsellor, the first person he sees is a police officer with handcuffs. That's the reality the bill wants to end.

The bill proposes replacing jail time with mandatory assessment, counselling, crisis helplines, and training for police, teachers and health workers.

But Senate President Godswill Akpabio is not having it. He argued that removing punishment could encourage suicide. His words again: "If you attempt suicide, make sure you die."

This isn't just legal grammar. Nigeria is one of about 20 countries in the world where attempting suicide is still a crime. The UK decriminalised it back in 1961. Ghana did it in 2023. The Federal Executive Council has already approved a move to decriminalise it. This bill is about whether Nigeria finally treats mental distress as a health issue, not a criminal one.

The bill hasn't become law yet. It has only scaled second reading. It has now been sent to the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Health. They will hold a public hearing - and Akpabio insists State Houses of Assembly must be involved because the Penal Code affects northern states.

If they agree, Nigeria will finally align its criminal laws with its mental health law.

For now, the debate continues: punishment or protection?

As reported by cbinews.tv.

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