The Benin–Nigeria border is 809 km (503 mi) in length and runs from the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

in the north down to the

Bight of Benin The Bight of Benin, or Bay of Benin, is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast that derives its name from the historical Kingdom of Benin. Geography The Bight of Benin was named after the Kingdom of Benin. It extends ea ...

in the south.

Description

The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Niger in 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 Mali, Nige ...

and then proceeds in a roughly south-to-southwesterly direction overland, before reaching the Okpara River just east of Waria. The border then proceeds to the south, utilising the Okpara for circa 100 miles, various small streams, and several overland sections, before terminating at the Bight of Benin.

History

During the second half of the 19th century France began creating small trading settlements on the West African coast. In 1851 a treaty of friendship was signed between France and the

Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional ...

in what is now southern Benin, followed by the creation of a protectorate in Porto Novo in 1863. The colony of

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

(the former name of Benin) was declared in 1894 and was later included within the much larger federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF) in 1899. Meanwhile, Britain had (via the Royal Niger Company) administered the area around

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

since 1861 and the Oil River Protectorate (

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...

are the surrounding area) since 1884. As Britain expanded into the interior, two colonies were created - the

Southern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River. The L ...

and 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 ...

. In 1900 the administration of these areas was transferred to the British government, with the Northern and Southern (including Lagos and Calabar) protectorates united as the colony of Nigeria in 1914. A rough delimitation between the two territories as far north as the 9th parallel had been negotiated on 10 August 1889; this was further clarified in more detail via an agreement of 12 October 1896. An Anglo-French treaty of 14 June 1898 confirmed this border, and extended it northwards up to the river Niger. This border was confirmed by a treaty of 19 October 1906, with some minor changes made in 1912 following on-the-ground demarcation which were later finalised officially via an exchange of notes in 1914. The section between the Atlantic and the Okpara river was marked on the ground by 142 concrete beacons, the boundary being formed by a straight line between them. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era, Britain and France gradually granted more political rights and representation for their African colonies. Dahomey declared full independence on 1 August 1960, followed by Nigeria on 1 October 1960, and their mutual frontier became an international one between two states. By 2004-05 many of the boundary markers from the original demarcation were missing, prompting Benin and Nigeria to re-demarcate some sections of the border.

Settlements near the border

Benin

* Mandécali * Segbana * Néganzi * Basso * Waria * Adékambi * Pobè *

Porto-Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Benin, second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following Bri ...

Nigeria

* Bani * Samia * Swate * Babana * Yashikera * Suya * Orieke

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benin-Nigeria border Borders of Benin Borders of Nigeria International borders