Jailed for attempted suicide in Nigeria

The House of Representatives is considering the amendment of a controversial Nigerian law that criminalises attempted suicide in the country.

According to Section 327 of the Criminal Code, anyone who attempts suicide is guilty of a misdemeanour and can be imprisoned for one year.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2024, the lower chamber of the National Assembly passed an amendment bill to that law for a second reading.

The sponsor of the bill, Francis Waive, while leading the debate on its general principles during Tuesday's plenary, noted that the section is too punitive for Nigerians.

The lawmaker also noted that the law is not in alignment with the Mental Health law, signed last year, which prescribes that offenders are sentenced to counselling. He said the disparity can create a headache for the courts who have two contradictory options of legislation to pick from.

"I think with the situation on ground, and what drives people into such acts, such people rather need counselling and help than punishment" he added.

The lawmaker proposed that whoever is caught attempting suicide should be provided counselling.

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The attempted suicide legislation is a carryover from when Nigeria was a British colony before it gained independence in 1960, but its enforcement has been loose.

Even though people have in the past been arrested and charged to court for attempting to take their own lives, there's no public record of anyone being convicted and sentenced to prison.

Waive had sponsored the same bill during the last Assembly, and it passed second reading in February 2022, but it didn't pass into law.

The new amendment bill will be examined by the House Committee of Justice and later presented to the chamber to consider for a third and final reading. If the bill passes in the National Assembly, it will be sent to President Bola Tinubu to sign into law.