[Nigeria Health Watch] In January 2023, a little over six decades after the Lunacy Act of 1958 was established, giving medical practitioners the power to detain people suffering from mental illnesses, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law Nigeria's first Mental Health Bill, the National Mental Health Act, 2021. The Lunacy Ordinance enacted in 1916, which preceded the Lunacy Act of 1958, was Nigeria's first mental health legislation. The Act is a significant step forward for mental health in Nigeria as it seeks to promote an
