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Raids · 1838–1854

Nupe raids on the confluence

Once Fulani rulers held Nupe, its armies raided down the Niger into the Attah’s confluence lands.

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Overview

Once Fulani rulers held Nupe, its armies raided down the Niger into the Attah’s confluence lands. In 1838 the Filatahs from Rabbah marched down on the district of the Annajah Amèh Abokko, the Attah’s governor there, and drove the people of Adda Kuddu, a thriving dyeing and weaving town on the right bank below the confluence, across the river; the British found it in ruins in 1841. In the early 1840s Masaba camped at the confluence, and Nupe-speaking refugees such as the Bassa-Nge, fleeing his raids, settled at the foot of Mount Patti. In 1853 Masaba struck Koton Karfe and broke the Attah’s hold on the north; Koton Karfe was never conquered, and Lokoja, never sacked or plundered, grew into the meeting place of many peoples. Raids grew worse the next year and refugees crossed to the south bank of the Benue. Nupe raiding also reached south into the Okun Yoruba and Etsako country.[1],[2],[3],[7],[5],[4],[6]Medium confidence

Allen gives 1838 for the march on the Annajah’s province and says the Filatahs drove the people from Adda Kuddu, without dating that town’s fall separately. Igu was first burned around 1832–33 (see Koton Karfe holds).

Who took part

What happened

  1. 1838 · Adda Kuddu (approximate)

    Adda Kuddu emptied

    The Filatahs march down on the Annajah’s district. The people of Adda Kuddu flee to the sandbanks in mid-river and then to the left bank, where they rebuild their looms and markets, hoping the river will protect them. Their town, with its many large dye pits, is left to the bush.[1]High confidence

  2. Early 1840s · Mount Patti, Lokoja

    Refuge at the foot of Patti

    Masaba camps where Lokoja now stands. Nupe-speaking Bassa-Nge, fleeing his raids, settle at the foot of Mount Patti, beside the Oworo on the hill. The place is not plundered.[4],[5],[6]Medium confidence

  3. 1853 · Igu (Koton Karfe)

    Masaba’s raid on Koton Karfe

    Etsu Masaba’s army strikes Igu (Koton Karfe), long a vassal of the Attah. The Attah’s hold on the north is broken, but Igu is not conquered and fights on.[2],[7]Medium confidence

  4. 1854 · South bank of the Benue, opposite Lokoja (approximate)

    Refugees on the south bank

    Raids intensify; people flee across the Benue into Igala land.[2]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. James, Favor Ojochegbe. (2017). A brief history of the Igala kingdom, part 3. Nigeria Tribal Languages (blog)
  3. 101 Last Tribes. Igala (tribal profile: extent at its height, vassals at Panda, Igu and Kakanda, the Tsoede tradition) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  4. Bassa Nge Community of North America. Our History (the Bassa-Nge flight from Masaba’s raids of the early 1840s, Eku Anupe; Masaba camps where Lokoja now stands) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  5. Wikipedia contributors. Lokoja
  6. Lokoja: The Historical Antecedents of a Multi-Ethnic Settlement (read only in search extracts: the Oworo on Patti, raids by Masaba’s general Benu, Baikie and Chief Meneha) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  7. Wikipedia contributors. Ebira people
  8. Dike, K. Onwuka. (1957). Origins of the Niger Mission 1841–1891 (Lokoja “belonged to no particular tribe and was the meeting place of adventurers from all quarters”). CMS Niger Mission, Ibadan (Project Canterbury transcription)