Mental Health: Why Nigeria Must Decriminalise Suicide Attempts – Sheik

A professor of Psychiatry at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Taiwo Lateef Sheik has advocated the decriminalization of suicide attempts in the country and rather focus more on addressing determinants of mental health.

He revealed that there is less than 1 mental health professional for every 100,000 people.

Sheik stated these in Abuja while speaking on the topic, ”Mental Health as a Pillar of National Security”, at the 2025 World Mental Health Day Symposium with theme ”Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies” .The symposium was organised by the Department of Defence Civil Military Relations in collaboration with Secure the Future.

He said suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15-29 olds globally and second in Africa.

He reiterated that more than 1 in 5 people living in settings affected by conflict have a mental health condition, adding that people with severe mental conditions die 10-20 years earlier than the general population.

In Nigeria, he said for every death it is estimated there are at least 20 attempts “meaning some 300,000 Nigerians, in suicidal distress, face the agonizing question of asking for help with added threat of the risk of punishment,” he said.

Speaking further, he said an average of six persons related to someone deceased by suicide suffer mental health and psychosocial sequelae, “adding these together about 450,000 Nigerians need support annually, the statistics is quite alarming indeed!”

According to Prof Sheikh, Nigeria has an estimated 15,000 annual deaths from suicide or 6.9 per 100,000 as reported by the World Health Organization.

He said, “Where suicide remains a crime these numbers are likely to be widely under-reported, masking the potential scale of the crisis.”

He lamented that access to mental health services is poor and social determinants of suicide abound in the society.

“Nigeria is among about 25 countries in world where suicide still remains a crime.

The law is a colonial law (those who brought it have changed it in their countries).”

He also lamented poor funding for mental health which accounts for only 3.5 percent of health budget, adding that 90 percent of it goes for hospitals to pay salaries and not to provide psychosocial support.

“Health financing mostly out of pocket lacks equity and limits health care delivery, cost of care prohibitive due to direct and incidental expenses,” he added.