Follow Us on Google
Following the Federal Executive Council’s approval of an amendment to Nigeria’s National Mental Health Act to decriminalise attempted suicide, Asido Foundation has described the decision as a landmark shift from punishment to care and a significant validation of years of mental health advocacy in Nigeria.
The Foundation, which marked its seventh anniversary, said the decision was particularly significant to it, having consistently advocated a more humane and evidence-based response to people experiencing suicidal distress and mental health crises.
For Asido, the development represents an important milestone in an advocacy journey that became particularly visible in 2024, when a delegation led by the Foundation’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Meka Niyi Olowola, visited the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to advocate the decriminalisation of attempted suicide and stronger implementation of Nigeria’s mental health legislation.
The delegation included the Foundation’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Jibril Abdulmalik, and its Abuja Regional Coordinators.
Commenting on the Federal Government’s decision, Olowola said the reform was more than a policy announcement, describing it as the culmination of years of advocacy built around the principle that people who survive suicide attempts need care, treatment and dignity rather than prosecution.
“For us at Asido Foundation, this is more than a policy announcement. It is the culmination of years of advocacy around a simple but fundamental principle: a person who survives a suicide attempt needs care, treatment and dignity, not prosecution.
“When we led our delegation to the Attorney-General of the Federation in 2024, we went with a clear conviction that Nigeria could and should do better. We are therefore deeply encouraged to see that conversation translated into decisive government action,” he said.
He said the Foundation did not view the development as an opportunity to claim exclusive credit but as evidence of what sustained and collaborative advocacy could achieve.
“Reform of this magnitude is never the work of one institution. We recognise and applaud the many mental health professionals, civil society organisations, legislators, policymakers and advocates who have carried this cause for years.
“Asido is proud to have been one of the voices consistently pushing for change, and particularly proud that our direct engagement with the Attorney-General contributed to building momentum around this important reform,” Olowola said.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare for advancing a policy direction that places compassion, public health and human dignity at the centre of Nigeria’s response to suicide.
Since its establishment in 2019, the Foundation has emerged as a prominent voice in mental health advocacy, public education, capacity building and suicide prevention, while supporting efforts to strengthen the implementation of Nigeria’s mental health framework.
Reflecting on the development, Abdulmalik said the most important achievement was that people at their most vulnerable might increasingly encounter a system designed to help rather than punish them.
“Decriminalisation removes a significant barrier to help-seeking, but it must now be accompanied by accessible services, trained professionals, crisis-response systems, public education and sustained investment in mental health care. This is progress, but it is also a call to deepen the work,” he said.
