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War · c. 1810s–1880

Koton Karfe holds

Igu, the Attah’s vassal town on the Niger about twenty miles above the confluence, stood in the path of the jihad for more than half a century.

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Overview

Igu, the Attah’s vassal town on the Niger about twenty miles above the confluence, stood in the path of the jihad for more than half a century. Igala tradition remembers the Attah’s army destroying a jihadist force there, the Ebira remember their own long defence, and both say the town was never conquered. The written record shows how hard it was pressed: Igu was burned around 1832–33, the Filatahs (Fulani-led armies from Rabbah) were camped at Koto’n Kàrafi in 1841, and Etsu Masaba of Nupe struck it again in 1853. Yet in 1841 its chief still paid tribute to the Attah, no emir was ever set up there, and from 1865 to 1880 the Igu were still fighting the armies of Bida and Ilorin. Raided and burned more than once, Koton Karfe was never conquered.[1],[4],[6],[2],[7],[3],[5]Disputed

The Igala victory is undated tradition; it is placed in the 1810s–1820s, when Fulani-led Nupe first had armies near the confluence. The fighting at Igu ran on to about 1880.

Who took part

What happened

  1. c. 1810s–1820s · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    Victory at Koto

    Igala tradition: the Attah’s soldiers bring down an invading jihadist force at Koto, far from Idah, and the war never reaches the Attah’s palace. The tradition gives the town’s name a meaning from the battle.[2],[3]Disputed

  2. c. 1832–1833 · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    Igu burned

    A raid sacks and burns Igu. Laird, passing in 1833, finds the town much smaller than it had been. Its people rebuild.[6]Medium confidence

  3. September 1841 · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    The enemy at the gate, tribute still to Idah

    The British are told the Filatahs are “still at Egòh, or at Koto’n Kàrafi, about twenty miles above the confluence”. Yet Allen records that the chiefs of Fandah (Panda), Kattam-Kàrafi and Buddu (Kakanda) still acknowledge the Attah of Idah by paying him a small tribute.[1]High confidence

  4. 1853 · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    Masaba’s raid

    Etsu Masaba of Nupe raids down to Koton Karfe. The Attah’s hold on the north is broken, but Igu fights on and is never made a Nupe town.[7],[4]Medium confidence

  5. 1865–1880 · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    Never subdued

    The Igu fight the armies of Bida and Ilorin, the Ajinomoh, while the Ebira hold their hills under Achigidi Okino. No emir is ever set up at Koton Karfe.[4],[5]Medium confidence

Kingdoms involved

Sources

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

  1. Allen, William; Thomson, T. R. H. (1848). A Narrative of the Expedition sent by Her Majesty’s Government to the River Niger in 1841, vol. I, chapters XII (the conference with the Attàh), XIV (Adda Kuddu) and XV (conquests of the Filatahs). Richard Bentley, London (transcribed by P. Davis)
  2. Ayegba A. A. (2020). Many kings fell during Usman Danfodio struggle but Attah Igala sat firmly on his throne. Summit Post News
  3. Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Igala forces fought and defeated invading jihadist forces at Igu (Koton Karfe)
  4. Wikipedia contributors. Ebira people
  5. Direction from the HistoNaija owner: Koton Karfe was never taken, because the Igala, the Ebira and the Koto people fought the jihad’s advance
  6. (2018). Igala–Hausa/Fulani Relations (1818–2018): Past, Present and What Future?. Igala Project
  7. James, Favor Ojochegbe. (2017). A brief history of the Igala kingdom, part 3. Nigeria Tribal Languages (blog)