Chinedum Treasure
Labour Party senatorial candidate for Anambra Central in the 2027 general election, Ven. Tochukwu Ikezue has opposed the proposed decriminalisation of attempted suicide in Nigeria, describing the move in its current form as “half-baked and dangerous.”
Ikezue, who spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing debate in the 10th Senate on the bill, said people who attempt suicide should not be sent to prison but provided with medical care, counselling and other forms of support.
The cleric, in a statement, said: “A person who attempts suicide needs a hospital bed, not a prison cell. He needs counselling, not handcuffs.”
He, however, argued that Nigeria should not simply copy the decriminalisation policies of developed countries without putting in place the welfare and mental health systems that support vulnerable people in those countries.
According to him, countries such as Britain, Canada and the United States have developed suicide prevention and mental health support systems alongside their approach to suicide laws.
He cited the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, the Samaritans’ suicide listening service and social welfare programmes, as well as the United States’ 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and mental health crisis centres.
Ikezue expressed concern that Nigeria lacks adequate mental health infrastructure to support a blanket decriminalisation of attempted suicide.
He claimed that the three senatorial districts of Anambra have fewer than 50 clinical psychologists serving more than six million people, while the country also lacks an effective nationwide suicide helpline and comprehensive social security system.
He warned that removing the legal provision without establishing an effective intervention framework could leave vulnerable Nigerians without the care they need.
LP Candidate called for the repeal of the one-year imprisonment provision for attempted suicide, describing it as “archaic and inhumane.”
He, however, proposed that such repeal should be accompanied by a Care and Treatment Law requiring anyone who attempts suicide to undergo mental health evaluation, counselling, family support and empowerment programmes.
He also called for the enactment of a Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Funding Bill to provide mental health desks across the 774 local government areas.
“We cannot copy Western freedom without copying Western responsibility,” Ikezue said, stressing that government’s responsibility should be to provide vulnerable citizens with reasons to live.
He called on Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, and other senators from the Southeast to reject the bill in its present form and support what he described as a more compassionate alternative based on “care, not jail; support, not abandonment.”
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