Illo is a town in
Kebbi State
Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤠𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆ðž¤) 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 of the
Sokoto Caliphate.
[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
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 recognitio ...
. 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. 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
Acc ...
, Lokoja 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