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British conquest · 1903–1918

Dekina and Ankpa taken; the base at Ankpa

After the shelling of Idah, the British took the northern Igala country by force: Dekina in 1903 and Ankpa in 1906.

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Overview

After the shelling of Idah, the British took the northern Igala country by force: Dekina in 1903 and Ankpa in 1906. Ankpa became a British base, and from it patrols went out to subdue northern and central Idoma land. The British set their own men over the conquered districts: Ankpa had three outsiders as district head between 1906 and 1917, Mallam Jibril from Zaria, then the Hausa Sharafu Abu, then Akanya, a Bassa-Nge from Shintaku, before an Igala was restored; and from 1914 to 1918 a soldier of the West African Frontier Force, Ahmodu, was made Onu of Dekina. The Igala resisted these imposed chiefs. The districts were also shared out among separate provinces: Idah with Onitsha in Southern Nigeria, and in the north, by the Attah’s account, Dekina with Nassarawa and Ankpa, the base for the Idoma patrols, with Munshi Province, the Idoma and Tiv country. Not until 1918 were the Igala districts brought back together.[1],[2],[4],[5],[3]Medium confidence

Who took part

What happened

  1. 1903 · Dekina

    Dekina taken

    British forces conquer Dekina, the seat of the northern Igala districts.[1]Medium confidence

  2. 1906 · Ankpa

    Ankpa taken; a British base

    Ankpa is conquered and becomes a British base. From it, patrols subdue northern and central Idoma land.[1],[2],[3]Medium confidence

  3. 1906–1917 · Ankpa

    Outsiders set over Ankpa

    The British make Mallam Jibril of Zaria district head of Ankpa (1906), then the Hausa Sharafu Abu (1909), then Akanya, a Bassa-Nge from Shintaku, before restoring an Igala. The Igala resist these imposed chiefs.[4]High confidence

  4. 1914–1918 · Dekina

    A soldier as Onu of Dekina

    Ahmodu, a Yoruba soldier of the West African Frontier Force, is made Onu of Dekina.[4]High confidence

  5. 1918 · Idah

    The districts rejoined

    At the Attah’s request the Igala districts are brought back together under Northern Nigeria, and the Attah regains a political role under Lieutenant Governor Palmer.[4],[5]High confidence

Kingdoms involved

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. Ineke, Ugbede Joseph. (2025). The food economy of colonial Igalaland, 1900–1960. Economic History of Developing Regions 40(2): 126–142 (Igalaland “subdued with the bombardment of Idah in 1896 by the Royal Niger Company and the conquering of Dekina and Ankpa in 1903 and 1906”; read in a search extract) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  2. Resistance and Rebellion to British Colonial Domination in Idoma Land (“Northern and Central Idoma land was subjugated by the British patrols operating from their base at Ankpa”; read in a search extract) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  3. Direction from the HistoNaija owner: Igala land was shelled and a garrison mounted at Ankpa, and that is why Igala land was divided
  4. Abdullahi, Musa Yusufu. (2016). Colonial Administration and the Re-organization of Igala Pre-colonial Political System. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 18(3)
  5. Monarch laments tragedies in Igala nation (the Attah: Idah District put in Onitsha Province, Ankpa District in Munchi Province, Dekina District in Nasarawa Province, reunited in 1918; read in a search extract). The Guardian (Nigeria) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)