Olusoji Obebe
“If you attempt suicide, you better succeed. If you don’t succeed, we will send you to prison.” This is such an utterly reckless and really insensitive statement to make as a person and even terribly apathetic coming from a senate president, Mr Godswill Akpabio. It demonstrates the lack of empathy that has engrossed the minds of political leaders in Nigeria. The most appalling of this problem is how the current administration employs political obscurantism and reticence to de-emphasize or trivialize the purgatories of the people.
Now, there is an ongoing discourse and legislative process on the decriminalization of attempted suicide. Under the extant criminal law in Nigeria, attempted suicide is an offence punishable with one year imprisonment by virtue of section 327 Criminal Code Act and section 231 Penal Code. Without mincing words, this position defeats all considerations of humanity and also disregards factors contributing to existential realities, the dailiness of which betones the critical condition of present-day living. Perhaps, it is even better to start by asking questions about the legislative intent and the purposive construction of the provision criminalizing the act of attempted suicide.
By criminalizing attempted suicide, it is believed that the rate of suicide will be reduced. Indeed, one of the features of a criminal justice system is punishment and one of the objects of punishment is deterrence. The idea is that humans do not want the sting and even much so the stigma that come with confinement within a space of condemnation enabled by state machinery and the operation of rule of law. It is a great form of misery, being deprived of freedom and self-will. As such, where one person is incarcerated for an offence, it is natural to believe that others will refrain from such act constituting the offence in order to avoid incarceration or any other punishment that inflicts some kind of anguish and results in one’s reduction in the eyes of the public, if not outright ostracization. Looking at this punitive measure, it can also be said how much emotional brunt that is there to bear by the person being punished. This is what underscores the criminalization of attempted suicide.
In addition to deterrence and restraints, there is a view from the legal standpoint that tends to justify the offence of attempted suicide by claiming that the life of a citizen is not just of the citizen but actually of the state. This argument, although with a legal grounding, has a philosophical undertone to it. With a foundation in Aristotle’s classical political philosophy, citizens belong to the state, and their lives and roles, from the prism of collectivism, are dedicated to the state. Under the law, a citizen has a constitutionally guaranteed right to life but subject to execution by only the state through judicial powers in respect of conviction for criminal offence. Thinkers along this line canvass that, on this philosophical and constitutional basis, a citizen cannot solely take his own life or be deprived of his life, unless by the state.
The concerns these raise are as to whether since the criminalization of attempted suicide there has been a deescalation of suicide or attempted suicide, what constitutional issues are to be contemplated in respect of the criminal punishment and whether there are better measures by which attempted suicide can be controlled.
First, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among the youths and about 80 per cent of global suicides occur in low and middle income countries. According to the WHO, more than 720,000 people die due to suicide every year. In Nigeria, according to CHELD, an estimated 10,000 people die by suicide annually with at least 20 attempts for every death. Also, Nigeria ranks sixth globally among countries with highest suicide rates, with about 300,000 people attempting suicide every year. All of this statistical evidence proves that attempted suicide keeps increasing every year in Nigeria, despite the criminal sanction on the act. In fact, the fear of arrest and imprisonment is a contributing factor to the reluctance of affected individuals in seeking help.
The reluctance further exposes underlying psychological issues to suicidal attempts. The state of the society and socio-economic experience of the affected individuals bring about the psychological conditioning from which suicidal ideations are elicited and acted upon. Do people under this kind of situation deserve to be punished or rather should be helped?
Moreover, the legal approach to attempted suicide is a critical one. The Constitution that guarantees right to life and prohibits any form of unlawful deprivation of life also provides that the state should ensure the welfare of the people at all times. Is punishing survivors of suicide a form of welfare? Does it not thus suffice to say that any law that punishes attempted suicide is unconstitutional?
As for philosophical underpinnings, it is apposite to reassert one of the most indispensable contributions to criminal jurisprudence. The Mill’s Harm Theory posits that state coercion can be justified only to prevent harm to others. Attempting suicide, although morally reprehensible, does not constitute harm to other persons. There is, therefore, nothing for criminal law to punish.
Additionally, the fact that there is no punishment for suicide shows that there is no reasonable justification for punishing attempted suicide. These are, among others, considerations that should construct conversations whether in the opinion arena or in the parliament, and chart the way forward for the issues surrounding attempted suicide in Nigeria. It is pertinent to also note that these considerations are not presented to support suicide but to seek better ways than criminalization that only aggravate the problem to reduce suicide rates and support affected individuals.
The dead cannot serve jail terms. Every person that attempts suicide is as good as dead; all they need is saving and not punishment. A Suicide Prevention Bill is indeed a way to go.
