161 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 9 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0218-1.ch009 ABSTRACT History of Zakat in Nigeria is not uniform across various regions of the country. Ever before the inva- sion of the colonialists to the northern part of the country, its collection and disbursement were largely in the hands of the Emirs. This was not the case in the south-western region where Zakat was not given the desired attention by the Muslims and did not win the support of the rulers for proper administration. In the post-colonial Nigeria, Zakat administration in the northern part of the country received a boost consequent upon the re-introduction of Shari’ah legal system to some states in the region. While state governments support its collection and disbursement through agencies set up for the purpose, this is not the case in the southwestern region where no government is involved. This chapter sought to evaluate Zakat distribution in south-western states of Nigeria with a view to determining how compliant with Shari’ah the entire process is. INTRODUCTION Zakat right from inception has been one of the pillars of Islam which probably because of some condi- tions attached to it, has been suffering neglect by many Muslims. Historically, with the demise of the Prophet (May peace be upon him), some groups of Muslims decided not to pay Zakat believing that the only eligible person to collect it from them was Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) and Zakat Distribution in the Context of Shari‘ah Corporate Governance: Evidence From South-Western Nigeria Adebayo Rafu Ibrahim University of Ilorin, Nigeria Saheed Afolabi Ashafa Lagos State University Foundation, Nigeria