Su*cide On The Rise As Nigeria Records 51 Cases In 12 Months

As Nigeria joins other countries to mark this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day, investigations have shown that there has been an upsurge in suicide especially among young people in the last 12 months.

Newspaper reports reviewed by Daily Trust showed that no fewer than 51 persons comprising males and females took their own lives within the period.

The suicide cases were recorded in 22 states – Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, FCT, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara.

It showed an increase of 17 when compared with the 34 suicide cases recorded in Nigeria in 2020.

The figure does not include the multitude of cases of suicide that have not been reported in the media because of many factors, among them the reluctance of family members to divulge information.

The theme of this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day is ‘Creating hope through action’.

Suicide is a criminal offence in Nigeria. Under Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, attempting to kill self carries a penalty of up to one year in prison.

“Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year,” the section said.

A Consultant Psychiatrist, Mohammed Mahmood Yusuf, said suicide is an act of taking one’s life, deliberately initiated and carried out by the person concerned with the intention of a fatal outcome.

-DailyTrust