He made this appeal during a stakeholder session organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Specialty Healthcare to discuss the prioritization and implementation of the Mental Health Act.

Obindo criticized the establishment of National Counseling Centers as premature given that attempted suicide remains a criminal offense under both the Criminal Act and the Penal Code.

“The first step would be a move to decriminalize attempted suicide. Criminalizing attempted suicide has proven to be a major barrier for suicide prevention intervention service uptake,” he stated.

He explained that the current law, inherited from colonial rule, fails to address the underlying thoughts and social determinants of suicide.

He noted that significant evidence shows 90% of individuals who commit suicide have a history of mental health conditions, with 80% attributable to depression.

“Why do we, as a nation, punish individuals who are ill and need medical attention rather than prosecution? Nigeria is lagging behind as many neighboring nations have abrogated that law,” Obindo added.

He also pointed out the risk to counselors under the current law, as it prescribes penalties for those aware of a suicide plan but who do not report it.

Obindo emphasized the need for the effective implementation of the Mental Health Act, which was legislated and signed into law in 2022.

He called for the establishment of a Mental Health Services Department in the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), noting that more than a year after the Act’s passage, the department has yet to be established.

Dr. Alex Egbona, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Specialty Healthcare, echoed Obindo’s sentiments and called for stakeholder partnerships to address mental health challenges and other related health issues.

Egbona highlighted the committee’s role in providing legislative frameworks for improved healthcare delivery and urged support from all relevant institutions and organizations.

The session aimed to share the committee’s mandate and planned activities, focusing on five thematic areas: Mental Health, Trauma and Obstetrics Fistula, Oral Health and ENT, Blood Transfusion, and Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Egbona solicited the collaboration of development partners, international NGOs, and CSOs to enhance the committee’s effectiveness.

Fasunle, 20-year-old, Department of Political Science was reported to have taken a poisonous chemical which resulted in her death on Wednesday night.

According to a source from the university community, the deceased took the poison in her room and started gasping for breath.

She was later rushed to the school’s health centre but was later referred to the Federal Medical Center, Owo where she gave up the ghost early Thursday.

The Head of Media and Protocols of institution, Victor Akinpelumi, who disclosed this expressed sadness on the incident, noting that the reasons for her action remained unknown.

He, however, said her action had nothing to do with a failed relationship.

Akinpelumi said, “It is true that she committed suicide. We have not been officially briefed but the only details we have is that she took sniper and she was later rushed to the state health center and from there she was referred to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.

“The bad incident happened on Wednesday and we have not carried out our findings to ascertain if she committed suicide over relationship issues but from what we gathered she had no boyfriend.

In a conversation on “Fox News Sunday,” Conway said that the Democratic Party’s hard push to the left will make it easy for Trump to be reelected in 2020.

“It may be Joe Biden, it may be somebody else, but it doesn’t really matter,” Conway said, referring to how many of the candidates are supporting “Medicare-for-all” and free health care for illegal immigrants, Every candidate who appeared on the second night of the first debate said they supported health care for those in the country illegally.

Several candidates, while favoring “Medicare-for-all,” also noted the impracticality of jumping to such a plan right away. Candidates including South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg have called for a private option for the time being, so people who want to keep their current employer plans can do so.

Conway noted that whoever it is will not just be running against Trump, but “the Trump economy,” which has surged during the president’s term in office.

Conway also said it is far too early to tell who the Democrats will ultimately select, given that “there’s still 23 or 24 of them running,” but she did note that many of the 2020 hopefuls are polling low. When the campaign reaches the general election stage, however, Conway said the Democratic nominee will have to answer for the party’s more extreme policies.

“Whoever it is, they really have to defend socialism now,” she said.

Conway also discussed the recent death of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was in custody in Manhattan as he faced trafficking charges. His death, which has been described as an apparent suicide, drew backlash against prison officials, given a previous reported suicide attempt.