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Is Nigeria A Secular State? Law, Human Rights And Religion In Context, Osita Nnamani Ogbu

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. The two major religions in the country are Islam and Christianity. Adherents of these two major religions take divergent positions on the question of the secularity of the Nigerian state. While most Christians argue for separation of the Nigerian state from religion, most Muslims advocate the fusion of religion, the state and the law. To many of them, the Sharia ought to govern the totality of the life of a Muslim from cradle to grave. For instance, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, maintained that any call …