Benin City has one of the country’s nine federal psychiatric hospitals, and it is one of the few Nigerian hospitals that tells you its fees before you arrive. Here is what it offers, what it costs, and where else in the city to turn.
The main psychiatric hospital in Benin City is the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, with its headquarters at 39 Uselu, New Lagos Road, and a permanent site on Urora Road. It is open every day with a 24-hour emergency service, and it publishes a registration fee of ₦5,000. The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) at Ugbowo also has a Department of Mental Health.
Psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist: who do you need?
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specialises in mental health. Psychiatrists can diagnose, prescribe medication, order tests and admit someone to hospital. Psychologists, counsellors and therapists provide talking therapy and don’t prescribe.
See a psychiatrist, usually at a hospital, when:
- Someone is hearing or seeing things others don’t, or holds fixed beliefs that aren’t true, such as being poisoned or followed.
- Someone is unusually elated, sleepless and reckless for days, or the reverse: so low they can’t eat, work or get out of bed.
- There are thoughts of suicide with a plan.
- Someone needs to come off alcohol, tramadol, codeine or sedatives, which can need medical supervision.
- Someone may need medication, or their current medication needs reviewing.
- An older relative is becoming confused or forgetful.
For most other problems, such as anxiety, low mood, grief, stress or relationship trouble, a therapist is a good place to start, and many people see both. Our guide to therapists, counsellors and psychiatrists explains the difference, and therapy or medication? covers how the two work together.
Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City
Federal psychiatric hospital. Two sites:
- Headquarters and annex: 39 Uselu, New Lagos Road, before Medical Junction (by Medical Stores Road junction, beside GTBank), Uselu, Benin City. Most people still call it “Uselu”.
- Permanent site: Idumwunowina Road, off Urora community, on the Benin-Auchi road.
The hospital began on 7 December 1964 as the Nervous Diseases Clinic in a converted Uselu dispensary with eight beds, got its first psychiatrist in 1968 and became federal in 1975. It is open every day, around the clock.
- What’s there: emergency and assessment psychiatry; general adult psychiatry; child and adolescent psychiatry; drug addiction psychiatry with a residential programme; an early intervention service for a first episode of psychosis; forensic psychiatry; geriatric psychiatry; community psychiatry, including home visits; consultation-liaison psychiatry; occupational therapy and clinical psychology; a general medical clinic with an NHIA desk; a laboratory, imaging, EEG and ECG; and immunisation.
- How to get seen: bring the person to the hospital, any day, for an assessment. The hospital’s own advice to families is to come with at least ₦20,000 to cover registration, a consultation and the first tests or medicines. If you live far away and the person already has a hospital card, you can book an appointment through the Medical Records Office with the card or file number, or by calling Social Welfare on 0809 520 4824 or SERVICOM on 0809 036 0766. The hospital can also send a team to assess someone at home, or to collect someone for admission, for a fee.
- Phone: 0815 837 0392 (the number the hospital gives for emergencies), 0803 223 1189 (also on WhatsApp) or 0815 113 0304. Email: contactus@fnphbenin.gov.ng. Payments can be made online through Remita.
Last checked: 3 November 2026, from fnphbenin.gov.ng and faq.fnphbenin.gov.ng.
What FNPH Benin says it charges
Few Nigerian hospitals publish fees. This one does, on its FAQ page. As published when we checked, with no date shown, so confirm before you pay:
| Item | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Registration (new person) | ₦5,000 |
| Suggested amount to bring for a first visit | at least ₦20,000 |
| Admission (covers the first month; minimum stay 30 days) | ₦63,300 |
| Each further month on the ward | ₦46,500 |
| Drug rehabilitation: initial deposit | ₦73,300 |
| Drug rehabilitation: DATER programme fee on top of admission | ₦40,500 |
| Home visit by the community team (drugs extra) | ₦13,000 |
| Collecting someone from home for admission | ₦18,000, plus ₦5,000 for a new case note |
Medicines and tests are charged on top, “subject to prescription” and “subject to findings” in the hospital’s words. The hospital says admission is for a minimum of 30 days and that recovery is individual, usually at least two weeks.
Suggested read: Psychiatric Hospitals in Nigeria: The Full List by Region
Drug and alcohol treatment at Uselu
The hospital’s drug programme has two tracks. Inpatient treatment runs in two phases over a minimum of three months and two weeks and includes detoxification, psychotherapy and vocational training. An outpatient option sees you once a month for two years. Stopping alcohol or sedatives suddenly can be dangerous, and coming off opioid painkillers such as tramadol is safer with medical support, so start with an assessment rather than a locked room. Our guide to choosing a rehab centre explains what good treatment looks like, and our page on addiction covers the options.
University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH)
Federal teaching hospital. Km 10, Benin-Lagos Expressway, Ugbowo, Benin City, next to the University of Benin’s main campus.
- What’s there: a Department of Mental Health, headed by a professor of psychiatry, alongside the hospital’s other specialties, and an emergency room that runs 24 hours. UBTH’s own website doesn’t yet list the department or its clinic days, so ask when you call.
- How to get seen: request an appointment in person or through the form on ubth.org, or go to the emergency room in an emergency. Non-emergency visits at teaching hospitals usually start with a referral letter or the general practice clinic, which runs 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at weekends.
- Phone: information desk 0913 300 0051 or 0913 400 0053; emergency room 0905 749 3732; complaints 0814 045 4483. Email: info@ubth.org.
Last checked: 3 November 2026, from ubth.org; the department confirmed on the Federal Ministry of Information’s site.
Edo State hospitals and private clinics
We couldn’t confirm a psychiatric unit at any Edo State hospital on an official page, and we found no private psychiatrist-led hospital in Benin City with its own website. If someone recommends a private clinic, ask who the psychiatrist is, ask to see its current registration with the Edo State Ministry of Health, and ask what a consultation and any admission will cost before you commit.
What happens at your first visit
At the federal psychiatric hospitals the first visit usually runs like this:
- You register at the emergency or assessment unit and give your details. There is a registration fee.
- You get a hospital number, a folder and an appointment card. Any referral letter goes into your folder.
- A nurse checks your blood pressure, pulse and temperature.
- A doctor sees you and decides on the next steps, which may include tests, medication, therapy or admission.
- You book your next appointment.
Bring any referral letter, a list of medicines taken so far, and someone who knows what has been happening, if you can. First visits can take most of a day.
If admission comes up
Admission at Uselu is for a minimum of a month, so it helps to know your rights under the National Mental Health Act 2021:
- Treatment needs your informed, written consent after the options, risks and costs have been explained.
- If you were admitted voluntarily and ask to leave, the hospital must let you go within 24 hours, unless you meet the Act’s strict conditions for involuntary care.
- Admission against someone’s will is allowed only in narrow circumstances, such as a serious likelihood of imminent harm, needs two doctors, and can be appealed.
- Nobody may be chained or shackled, anywhere, by anyone.
Our explainer on the Mental Health Act has the rest.
What it costs, and NHIA
FNPH Benin’s fees are above. UBTH doesn’t publish fees; expect to pay for registration, consultations, tests, medicines and admission. If you’re on NHIA, the standard benefit package includes consultations with specialists, psychiatrists among them. Ward stays are capped at 21 days a year and need a referral, and higher-level services need your HMO’s approval. FNPH Benin has an NHIA desk at its general medical clinic. Private HMO plans vary, and many limit mental health care. Ask your HMO and the hospital before you rely on cover. Our guide to whether your HMO covers therapy shows what to ask.
If it’s an emergency now
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 112.
- Psychiatric emergencies: the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital’s emergency service at Uselu, open 24 hours (0815 837 0392), or UBTH’s emergency room (0905 749 3732).
- To talk to someone now: Safe Place Nigeria on 0800 800 2000, toll-free and answered 24 hours a day. Our helplines page lists more.
Where Mytherapist.ng fits
Our therapists provide talking therapy. They don’t prescribe medication or admit anyone to hospital. If you need a psychiatrist, start with Uselu or UBTH. Therapy can run alongside psychiatric treatment, and you can find a therapist and see them online from Benin City. If psychosis is part of the picture, read about schizophrenia. For hospitals in other cities, see our national list of psychiatric hospitals.
Suggested read: Psychiatric Hospitals in Ibadan: UCH and Where Else to Go
Addresses, fees and phone numbers were taken from each hospital’s own website. Last checked by phone: [DATE: fill in before publishing]. Numbers and fees change, so call before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the psychiatric hospital in Benin City?
The Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital has its headquarters at 39 Uselu, New Lagos Road, before Medical Junction, and a permanent site on Idumwunowina Road, off Urora, on the Benin-Auchi road.
How much does Uselu psychiatric hospital charge?
As published on its website when we checked: ₦5,000 to register, and the hospital suggests bringing at least ₦20,000 for a first visit. Admission is ₦63,300 for the first month and ₦46,500 a month after that, with medicines and tests extra. Confirm before you pay.
Can I take someone to Uselu without a referral?
Yes. The hospital’s own advice is to bring the person in for assessment, any day of the week. It also offers home assessments and can collect someone for admission, for a fee.
Does UBTH have a psychiatric department?
Yes, a Department of Mental Health. UBTH’s website doesn’t list its clinic days, so call the information desk on 0913 300 0051 before you go.
Does the Benin psychiatric hospital treat drug addiction?
Yes. It runs a residential programme of at least three months and two weeks, and an outpatient programme with monthly visits over two years. Fees for the residential programme are published on its website.
This article is awaiting clinical review. It’s based on published research and health guidelines, and we’ll update it once a clinician has reviewed it.
