Islamic Law as Customary Law: The Changing Perspective in Nigeria

Pluralism is a main feature of Nigeria as a country. There is ethnic pluralism. 1 The pre-colonial Nigeria comprised of over 250 nation states embracing over 500 ethnic and linguistic groups. 2 These ethnic groups spread across the three main geographical units in the country, namely, the north, the west, and the east. The north was dominated by the Hausa-Fulani and the Kanuri peoples, the west by the Yoruba speaking tribes, and the east by the Igbos.