The rising trend of suicide skits on social media is becoming a source of concern, particularly among young people. Although some regard them as harmless humour, stakeholders warn that they pose serious psychological consequences on citizens and also seem to violate existing laws, YETUNDE AYOBAMI OJO and SILVER NWOKORO report.

The act of simulating suicide and sharing it on social media is now raising questions about the thin line between online entertainment and conduct that could encourage harmful behaviour. With social media platforms increasingly shaping public discourse, analysts warn that repeated exposure to jokes about suicide may normalise self-harm and erode society’s sensitivity to mental health challenges.

The issue of suicide jokes has become particularly worrisome among young Nigerians, who dominate online spaces where humour spreads quickly and often without proper context.

What may begin as sarcasm, satire, or light-hearted teasing can have stronger psychological effects, especially among teenagers and young adults who are still navigating emotional development and identity formation.

In digital spaces driven by viral trends, memes and short-form videos, jokes about suicide are sometimes treated as edgy humour meant to attract attention and engagement.

However, mental health experts warn that repeated exposure to such content can gradually desensitise audiences to the real dangers associated with depression, emotional trauma and suicidal thoughts.

Analysts say this normalisation risks blurring the line between humour and harm, potentially weakening empathy for individuals battling mental health crises. In addition, it could also animate the psychological agony of families whose loved ones perished through suicide.
The debate resurfaced recently following a social media clash between two high-profile digital personalities, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM) and Mukoro Michelle, popularly known as King Mitchy.

What began as a disagreement over claims about charity work quickly spiralled into a viral online drama that exposed the risks of sensational content created primarily to attract clicks and views. At the centre of the controversy was a livestream involving King Mitchy in which she appeared to have consumed a harmful household substance, Hypo bleach.

Shortly after the video surfaced, rumours of her death began to circulate widely across social media platforms, triggering panic among followers before her team later dismissed the claims. Authorities also clarified that she had not been hospitalised.

However, the situation escalated when another video surfaced showing VDM mimicking the act. VDM even went a step further by organising a funeral for himself, surrounded by wailers and sympathisers. Regardless of the content’s intention, the sequence of events triggered a wave of copycat videos and memes among young Nigerians.

The trend quickly spread across several social media platforms, raising alarm among observers who feared that impressionable viewers could attempt to replicate such acts without understanding the dangers involved.

The situation became so widespread that the manufacturer of the cleaning product issued a public safety warning, stressing that the substance was strictly intended for domestic cleaning and not for human consumption.

The company also sought to distance itself from the controversy, stating that it would not be drawn into personal disputes but was compelled to warn the public about the dangers of misusing its product.
Although the Nigerian Constitution does not specifically address jokes about suicide, several provisions of the country’s criminal laws regulate suicide-related conduct.

Under the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act, attempted suicide remains a criminal offence.

Section 327 of the Criminal Code, which applies in Southern Nigeria, provides that any person who attempts to kill himself commits a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year.

Similarly, section 231 of the Penal Code, which applies in Northern Nigeria, prescribes punishment of up to one year imprisonment, a fine, or both for attempted suicide.

But in practice, suicide itself cannot be punished because the individual who commits the act would have been dead already. However, the law provides punishment when the act fails, and the individual survives.

Despite growing advocacy by mental health organisations for reform, the legal framework has remained largely unchanged. However, there are ongoing legislative efforts to address the issue. The proposed National Suicide Prevention Bill 2024 seeks to decriminalise attempted suicide and replace it with mandatory counselling, psychological support and rehabilitation.

The bill, sponsored by Asuquo Ekpenyong, seeks to reform Nigeria’s legal and health response to suicide by decriminalising attempted suicide and establishing a structured national prevention framework.

It proposes establishing a National Suicide Prevention Unit to coordinate nationwide prevention strategies. It also provides for the creation of 24-hour crisis helplines, integration of suicide prevention and mental health services into primary healthcare, and training programmes for healthcare workers and other stakeholders.

In addition, the proposed bill makes it mandatory for improved data collection and research to better understand suicide trends and guide policy interventions.

In fact, the legislation aims to reduce stigma, encourage early intervention, and strengthen mental health support systems. The bill has passed its first reading in the Senate and is currently awaiting second reading. Supporters of the bill argue that suicide attempts should be treated primarily as a mental health challenge rather than a criminal offence.
Legal experts also pointed out that Nigerian laws criminalise assisted suicide. Under Section 326 of the Criminal Code, any person who procures another person to kill himself, counsels another to commit suicide, or aids another person in committing suicide commits a felony punishable with life imprisonment.

This means that promotion or encouragement of suicide, whether offline or online, can attract very serious criminal liability. However, legal analysts note that context remains crucial. If a video or skit is clearly satirical, educational or intended to discourage suicide, it may not amount to a criminal offence. But where the content appears to romanticise self-harm or encourage vulnerable individuals to engage in such behaviour, authorities could interpret it as counselling or suicide inducement.

A legal practitioner, Chinwike Ezebube, explained that suicide itself cannot be punished within the criminal law. “In Nigeria’s legal architecture, suicide is not an offence since it is impossible to punish the offender because it usually results in fatality,” he said.

He stated that suicide is one of the few acts where the offender is punished only when the act fails, describing it as an irony. “Ironically, suicide is one of the few despicable acts, where the offender is not punished when the offence is completed but punished when the commission of the offence fails,” he said.

According to him, section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, which applies in the southern states, and section 231 of the Penal Code Act applicable in northern Nigeria stipulate punishment for attempted suicide, and not suicide.

“A suicide skit may be likened to attempted suicide and may be punishable depending on the elements associated with the performance of the skit,” he warned. He explained that though there is no direct law specifically prohibiting suicide-related skits, the nature and impact of such content could bring it within the scope of existing punishable acts under relevant laws.

He further argued that content encouraging self-harm could amount to inducement or harmful social practice capable of attracting legal sanctions.

Ezebube added that such acts could fall under the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.). Act 2015, particularly section 24 dealing with offensive or harmful online communication.

“It is best seen from two perspectives – from the angle of the skit maker and from the angle of a vulnerable recipient who decides to replicate the content of the skit,” he said. He, however, noted that the application of section 24 has been limited following the ECOWAS Court of Justice’s decisions on the provision. Notwithstanding the limitation, he added that skits with attempted suicide content may still be viewed as offensive and potentially punishable.

Also commenting on the issue, President of the Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria, Angus Obinna, warned that public stunts suggesting self-harm should not be trivialised, adding that section 327 of the Criminal Code criminalises attempted suicide with one year imprisonment.

Obinna pointed out that though faking suicide does not have a clearly defined punishment, such conduct could still fall under other criminal provisions depending on the circumstances.

According to him, one possible liable offence is false pretence, which occurs when a person intentionally misrepresents facts to deceive others.

“The question, therefore, is whether VDM faked suicide to mislead people or to defraud someone. That would be a matter for proper investigation, and in such cases, arrest may even be necessary,” he said.

The lawyer also noted that the act could fall under the offence of public mischief, which involves misleading authorities or creating false emergencies that trigger unnecessary investigations and waste public resources. He cited section 140 of the Criminal Code and Section 418 of the Penal Code as provisions dealing with such offences.

“In effect, the actions of King Mitchy and VDM, if established, must be discouraged. They are acts against public morals, decency and policy. Suicide must never become the subject of a joke. It is a joke taken too far,” he warned.

Obinna argued that celebrities and social media influencers are not above the law. “The law is not a respecter of persons. In civilised societies, celebrities are subjected to the full weight of the law for breaches. Ours should not be different. If not properly addressed, faking suicide could become prevalent, particularly considering the personalities involved,” he stated.

He maintained that the matter requires thorough investigation in line with the influencers’ operations and health status. Obinna stated that if an actual suicide had occurred, the issue would certainly not be treated as a joke, adding that the skits were reckless.

For legal scholar, Yemi Omodele, the growing trend highlights the urgent need for stronger regulation of social media behaviour. “Every part of society needs to be regulated by law. Social media is not an exception,” he suggested.

According to him, posting objects or engaging in acts capable of influencing suicide should be discouraged and properly regulated by law.

Omodele also criticised the weak enforcement of existing laws, noting that ineffective law enforcement agencies contribute significantly to the persistence of harmful online behaviour. “In any event, our law enforcement agencies are not performing as expected. This is the major cause of the problem,” he said.

He warned that unless stronger safeguards are introduced, the growing culture of sensational online content could continue to expose vulnerable young people to dangerous trends.