Illo is a town in

Kebbi State Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a state in the northwestern Nigeria, Kebbi state is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while ...

, Nigeria.

Pre-colonial history

Illo was one of the Northern Borgu Kingdoms, small but wealthy, and it fought a number of wars with its neighbors in the nineteenth century including the Samba War and conflicts with

Gwandu Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi. ...

of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

.Adekunle, Julius. (2004)
Politics and Society in Nigeria's Middlebelt: Borgu and the Emergence of a Political Identity
'' Africa World Press, pp. 131-134.

Colonial era

1905 Borgu 1d local stamp with stamps of Northern Nigeria used on piece via Zungeru

In 1896 the French occupied Illo in response to the occupation of other towns in

Borgu Borgu is a region in north-west Nigeria and in the northern Republic of Benin. It was partitioned between Great Britain and France by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. People of Borgu are known as Bariba or Borgawa. History According to the ...

by the soldiers of the British

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

. Both countries were vying for control of trade on the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, but ultimately Illo fell into the British zone following the Anglo-French Delineation Agreement. Later the British Government divided Nigeria into Northern and Southern Protectorates and Illo became part of the

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria (Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate an ...

. British posts were established along the Niger River and at

Jebba Jebba town is a Yoruba and Nupe city in Kwara State, Nigeria. It has views of the River Niger and has an estimated population of 22,411 as of 2007. The name of the king of Jebba is Oba Abdulkadir Adebara. Gallery File:Canoeing on the Niger R ...

Zungeru Zungeru is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It was the capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1902 until 1916. It is the site of the Niger State Polytechnic and is located on the Kaduna River. History Colonial history Acco ...

Lokoja Lokoja is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the ...

and Illo, and a mail route was established between them for communication with Britain."Northern Nigeria: The Illo Canceller and Borgu Mail" by Ray Harris in ''Cameo'', Vol. 14, No. 3, Whole No. 90, October 2013, pp. 158-160.

References

Populated places in Kebbi State {{Kebbi-geo-stub