RECONCILING THE IRRECONCILABLE? COMMUNITARIAN LEGAL PLURALISM AS A PATHWAY TO GENDER EQUITY IN NIGERIA'S CUSTOMARY JUSTICE SYSTEMS

The protracted conflict between customary justice systems and women’s rights in Nigeria represents a critical impasse in legal pluralist studies, often framed through an intractable dichotomy between universal human rights and cultural relativism. This paper argues that Communitarian Legal Pluralism (CLP) offers a transformative third pathway that transcends this stalemate. Moving beyond the analytically barren and practically ineffective paradigms of state-led supremacy or unregulated tolerance, CLP provides a framework for fostering endogenous reform within customary legal orders. By leveraging its core tenets of participatory governance, moral embeddedness, and a communitarian conception of well-being, CLP facilitates internal dialogue and evolution. Drawing on case studies from Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa communities, this paper demonstrates how de facto shifts towards gender equity are already occurring through the reinterpretation of indigenous values. The study concludes by proposing a practical “CLP Intervention Model” for policymakers and NGOs, advocating for a role as facilitators of dialogue rather than external imposers of norms, thereby offering a culturally resonant and sustainable approach to achieving gender justice in Nigeria’s complex legal landscape.