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| Image by The Cable Nigeria |
Nigeria has taken an important step in the way it responds to suicide and mental health crises.
On August 19, 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved an amendment to the National Mental Health Act that seeks to decriminalise attempted suicide in Nigeria. The amendment will now proceed to the National Assembly for enactment.
This decision is more than a legal change. It shows a growing understanding that people experiencing severe emotional distress need care, support and protection, not punishment. It also creates an opportunity to rethink how Nigeria responds to mental health challenges across law, healthcare and society.
For decades, colonial-era laws shaped Nigeria’s response to attempted suicide. Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 231 of the Penal Code treated people who attempted suicide as offenders rather than people experiencing a mental health crisis.
This created a serious contradiction. Someone could survive one of the most difficult moments of their life and still face criminal consequences. Families could also worry about arrest, shame and public judgement when their main concern should have been keeping their loved one safe and getting help.
Criminalisation also affected how people understood suicide. Treating an attempt as a crime could make people believe that someone in crisis had done something wrong. Fear of punishment and stigma could also discourage people from speaking honestly about suicidal thoughts or asking for help early.
Removing criminal punishment will not solve every mental health challenge in Nigeria, but it removes an important barrier between people in crisis and the care they need.
Policy change rarely starts on the day the government makes an announcement. Important reforms often come after years of advocacy, research, consultations, and engagement with decision-makers.
Our partner, The Sunshine Series and Idimma Health Initiative, contributed to this process.
Aisha Abdullahi Bubah, Founder of The Sunshine Series and Idimma Health Initiative, served on the committee involved in developing Nigeria’s National Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework for 2023 to 2030. The framework provides direction for suicide prevention and better responses to people experiencing suicidal distress. Her involvement shows why frontline experience matters in policy discussions. Professionals who work directly with people and communities can bring practical knowledge into decisions that affect mental health services and support.
Both organisations combined policy engagement, public advocacy and years of counselling experience in their work. The organisation continued to speak about the contradiction between promoting mental healthcare while criminalising people experiencing serious mental health crises.
Frontline counselling also gave the organisation a clear understanding of how stigma, fear, family reactions and access to care shape what happens when someone reaches a crisis point.
Reflecting on the reform, Aisha said: “When suicide is no longer a crime, people can reach out when they are struggling without the fear of prosecution hanging over them. Silence in suicide risk situations is fatal. This changes that.”
Her words capture why this reform matters. Decriminalisation does not mean Nigeria has solved suicide prevention. It means the country is moving towards a response that focuses on assessment, care and protection instead of punishment.
Legal reform is important, but laws cannot immediately change beliefs that have existed for generations. Someone may no longer fear prosecution and still worry about how family, friends, employers or communities will respond. People may understand that depression is a health condition and still fear being described as weak, dramatic or unable to cope.
This is why cultural change matters alongside legal reform. People need to feel safe enough to speak about emotional distress before it becomes a crisis. Communities also need a better understanding of mental health so they can recognise when someone may need support. Storytelling can help create this understanding.
Shades of Us uses storytelling to shape how people understand social issues, including mental health. Stories can challenge assumptions, build empathy, and help people recognise experiences they may not know how to describe.
Our film, The Dumps, reflects this approach.
The film follows a young woman whose life appears comfortable from the outside. She seems composed and functional, yet she lives privately with depression and emotional struggles that people around her may not immediately notice.
Her experience challenges the idea that depression must always look obvious. People can work, study, socialise, care for others and still struggle internally. A person can look successful and stable while carrying emotional pain that others cannot see. The Dumps explores this gap between appearance and reality. The film challenges stereotypes, helps viewers recognise hidden experiences and gives families and communities a starting point for conversations about depression.
Storytelling therefore has an important place in mental health advocacy. Policy can create protection and access to care, while stories can influence whether people recognise that they need support and feel safe enough to seek it.
Nigeria’s move towards decriminalising attempted suicide shows why mental health advocacy needs more than one solution. People need awareness and support before a crisis, compassionate care during a crisis and understanding during recovery. Legal reform, accessible mental healthcare, public education and responsible storytelling all have a role to play.
A strong law cannot achieve its full impact if stigma keeps people silent. A powerful story can encourage recognition, but people still need somewhere safe to seek help. Counselling services can support recovery, but people must feel comfortable enough to use them.
Our partnership with both organisations reflects this wider approach. The Sunshine Series and Idimma Health Initiative contribute counselling, advocacy, wellness programming and policy engagement. Shades of Us contributes storytelling, cultural representation and public conversation.
Each organisation works differently, but both are working towards the same goal: creating an environment where people experiencing emotional distress can seek help early, receive appropriate support and keep their dignity.
The Federal Executive Council’s approval is an important step, but more work remains. The amendment must still proceed through the National Assembly and complete the legislative process.
Nigeria must also continue strengthening suicide prevention, crisis response, mental health services, referral systems and public education. Families, workplaces, schools, media organisations and communities also have a role in reducing the shame surrounding mental health struggles.
The true impact of this reform will not only be seen in the removal of criminal penalties. It will also be seen in whether people feel safer speaking about suicidal thoughts, whether families know where to seek help and whether people can access care before distress reaches a crisis point.
Shades of Us will continue using storytelling to challenge harmful assumptions and create conversations around experiences that people often keep hidden.
We congratulate Aisha Abdullahi Bubah and everyone whose advocacy contributed to this progress.
Nigeria has taken an important legal step. The next task is to ensure that changes in law are matched by changes in understanding, access to care and the way society responds to people who are struggling.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, Mind WellNest offers a simple starting point for accessing support.
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Share it with someone who may need it. Sometimes, the right support can begin with a simple step.
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