CAPACITY OF PATIENTS TO CONSENT TO TREATMENT: A CASE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAWS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The issue of mental health cuts across time, landmark and civilization, and the question of a mentally ill person’s ability to have a say in their own treatment is a core issue in the context of Psychiatry, Human Rights and Medical Law. The purpose of this paper is to examine mental health laws in Nigeria and how they affect a mentally health patient’s right to consent to their own treatment. This paper adopted a doctrinal method of research which involved the use of primary sources such as the repealed Lunacy Act, the new National Mental Health Act of 2021, and case laws; in addition to secondary sources of law such as textbooks, journals and articles. Concepts such as Informed Consent and Capacity were examined. The study also examined the rights and challenges of mental health patients in Nigeria. The study found that the Lunacy Act which governed mental health in Nigeria for sixty-five years before it was repealed, was barbaric, and failed to provide for the treatment and care of persons with mental health conditions. This led to a wrong mindset towards mental health that made the country fall behind other nations in the mental healthcare sector. Therefore, this paper recommends that lawmakers work with mental health activists in accordance with WHO provisions /guidelines and other international frameworks, to amend the existing laws on mental health in Nigeria to fully protect the rights of mentally ill persons to consent to their treatment and avoid a repeat of cruel laws like the Lunacy Act that violated their right to consent. It further recommends an adequate implementation of the law on capacity of mental health patients to consent to treatment.