Igala

Overview

The Igala live mainly in southern and eastern Kogi State, in the angle where the Niger and Benue rivers meet. Their historic capital is Idah, on the Niger, seat of the Attah Igala, ruler of the Igala Kingdom. Igala is also spoken in riverside communities downstream and across the Niger: Olumbanasa in Anambra West, Igga, Ojjor and Ogurugu in Enugu, Ebu in Delta, and Ilushi and Ifeku in Edo.^{[2],[3],[4],[5]}High confidence

Where the Igala live

Local government areas by state. Homeland: the group is the majority. Shared area: a large share of a mixed area. Smaller presence: present, but a small share.

• Kogi

  • Ankpa(Homeland)
  • Dekina(Homeland)
  • Ibaji(Homeland)
  • Idah(Homeland)
  • Igalamela-Odolu(Homeland)
  • Ofu(Homeland)
  • Olamaboro(Homeland)
  • Omala(Homeland)
  • Bassa(Shared area)
  • Lokoja(Shared area)
  • Ajaokuta(Smaller presence)

• Enugu

  • Igbo-Eze North(Homeland)
  • Uzo-Uwani(Shared area)

• Anambra

  • Anambra West(Shared area)

• Benue

  • Apa(Smaller presence)

• Edo

  • Esan South-East(Smaller presence)
  • Etsako Central(Smaller presence)
  • Etsako East(Smaller presence)

• Delta

  • Oshimili North(Smaller presence)

Areas are approximate and show where people live. They are not claims of land ownership.

Communities beyond the homeland

Ebu

Oshimili North, Delta State: Aganike, Anamaugelo, Ekpenchor, Iyagoshimi, Ogor, Okwuru, Uchebe, Ugbolo.^[24],[1]High confidence

Founded by Igala speaking people who migrated from Idah across the Niger. The masquerade known as the “Ebu Wonder” and the White Eagle are symbols of the Ebu kingdom.^[24]

Farming and fishing.^[24]

Ilushi (Uloshi)

Esan South-East, Edo State: Uloshi, Okpokporo, Odo-Egwume, Igbamaka.^{[20],[7],[15],[17]}High confidence

Once part of the Igala Kingdom; the people still call their father Attah. Colonial and later boundary changes placed them in Edo State.^[20]

Fishing, farming and trade along the Niger, near the borders of Kogi, Anambra and Delta.^[20]

Ifeku

Etsako Central, Edo State; Etsako East, Edo State; Esan South-East, Edo State: Ala-Ifeku, Owa-Ifeku, Ifeku Uyi, Okpatawo Ogane-Ifeku, Allah-Ifeku I, Allah-Ifeku II, Ifeku Island, Okwoshimili.^{[21],[7],[22],[15],[17],[23]}Medium confidence

A 1923 British intelligence report records people living on Ifeku Island since before 1787.^[21]

Farming and fishing on fertile land by the Niger and Aika rivers; the island is now promoted for tourism.^[21]

Unuedegor (Ojuwo)

Etsako East, Edo State: Ojuwo.^{[33],[15],[34]}Disputed

Brothers from Egor founded Unuedegor in the early 16th century. Later, Igala people from Idah crossed the Niger, settled a section of the town and named it Ojuwo. Unuedegor was also the Royal Niger Company’s first base on the western side of the Niger.^[33],[34]

Fishing and farming on the Niger.^[33]

Olumbanasa

Anambra West, Anambra State: Odekpe, Igbedor, Ode, Alla and Onugwa, Igbokenyi, Odomagwu.^{[14],[15],[17]}High confidence

Long among Anambra’s most neglected communities: in 2015 Vanguard described Igbokenyi, an island in the Niger with fewer than 2,000 people, as lacking water, electricity, roads and schools.^[14]

Inoma and Owelle

Anambra West, Anambra State: Inoma, Owelle, Ukwala.^{[36],[15],[17]}Medium confidence

Owelle Central market is one of the main markets of Anambra West.^[35]

Nzam

Anambra West, Anambra State: Etakolo, Odobo, Enekpa, Echa, Okpoliba, Urubi, Igeja, Uda.^{[37],[39],[36],[40],[38]}High confidence

The headquarters of Anambra West. In 2021 its Igala speaking people protested their marginalisation “in their ancestral land”.^[37]

A riverine town where most people farm or fish, growing yam, cassava, maize and rice.^[38]

Ogurugu

Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State.^{[19],[5],[15]}High confidence

Founded by Igala from Idah centuries ago. Its legendary figure Onoja Oboni is credited with building the old walls still visible today; a yearly festival is held at his grave, which women may not enter.^[19]

Fishing and river trade with Kogi across the Imabolo, and rice and yam farming.^[19]

Igga

Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State.^{[19],[18],[15]}High confidence

One of the riverbank Igala communities of Enugu founded from Idah. Enugu’s Igala rulers receive their staff of office from the Attah at Idah.^[19],[41]

Fishing and trade across the river with Kogi.^[19]

Asaba (Uzo-Uwani)

Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State.^[18],[15]Medium confidence

Ojjor

Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State: Ojjor Iga, Okogbu Ojor Ogboli.^[19],[15]High confidence

Faces the Igala communities of Kogi across the Imaboro river. Its ruler: “Igala is our mother tongue, but we are from Enugu State.”^[42]

Fishing and trade across the river with Kogi.^[19]

Ette (Etteh, Eteh)

Igbo-Eze North, Enugu State; Olamaboro, Kogi State: Ebiega Ette, Achanya (Emachanya Ette), Onodaba (Aionodaba Ette), Ijekpe Ette.^{[28],[29],[30],[31],[32]}High confidence

Eteh is a border clan of nine villages (Achanya, Ochigide, Aishi, Ebe, Emenebe or Ayinebe, Ijekpe, Ogilliama, Ogodo and Onodaba) on both sides of the Enugu and Kogi line, in Igbo-Eze North and Olamaboro. Its ruler, the Onu-Oda Adogo, is an Igala king. Tradition says Enwenwowo, a descendant of a son of the Attah, went to Idah and received the staff and title of Onu-Oda, and every Onu-Oda since has gone to Idah to be confirmed by the Attah. Most of the people claim Igala origin; Idoma and later Igbo settlers joined them.^[31],[32]

Language

Igala, a language of the Yoruboid family (Atlantic-Congo › Volta-Congo › Benue-Congo › Defoid › Yoruboid). ISO 639-3: igl.^[1]High confidence

Traditional ruler

Attah Igala, seated at Idah.^[2],[3]High confidence

In history

• Igala KingdomIgala Kingdom at its height, 1750
• KwararafaKwararafa at its height, 1650

Sources

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

1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian. Glottolog: Igala (igal1242)
2. Wikipedia contributors. Igala people
3. Boston, J. S. (1968). The Igala Kingdom. Oxford University Press for the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Ibadan (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
4. Negedu, I. A. (2014). The Igala traditional religious belief system: Between monotheism and polytheism. Ogirisi: A New Journal of African Studies 10(1) (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
5. Obinaju, Nwabueze; Anyanwu, Ogbonna. (2018). A Geolinguistic Survey of the South East Zone of Nigeria. JOLAN Supplement III
6. Omachonu, Gideon S.; Dalhatu, Abigail Musa. (2018). The Languages of the North Central Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. JOLAN Supplement III (tables of languages by LGA for Benue, FCT, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau)
7. Abdullahi, Ayegba Aduojoh; Onoja, Johnson Baba. (2019). Igala Race Spreads Through 21 States in Nigeria. Kogi Reports
8. Direction from the HistoNaija owner: Ajaokuta is Ebira land; the Igala live in the riverside communities along the Niger, as they still do
9. (2020). Deed of Cession: Attah Igala Sold Lands in Lokoja, Others to Queen of England for 700,000 Cowries. Kogi Reports (the deed of 14 September 1841 is held at the Museum of Colonial History, National Commission for Museums and Monuments)
10. Wikipedia contributors. Niger expedition of 1841
11. Ibileye, Gbenga. Functional Definition of Roles in Complex Multilingualism: The Example of Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. Journal of Language Teaching and Research 6(6)
12. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: indigenous Igala fishermen lived at Lokoja when the Attah leased the land to the British; no one in Lokoja should be described as settled
13. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: the Igala population in Lokoja is large; the Igala are historical traders and the largest group in Kogi State
14. (2015). IGBOKAENYI: Philanthropist, Ezeemo remembers the forgotten tribe in Anambra. Vanguard
15. GRID3. (2020). GRID3 NGA Settlement Names (settlement points with ward and LGA)
16. Amali, Anthony-Mary Chukwudozie; Bieresnu-Nnabugwu, Makodi. (2023). Political Economy of Autonomous Communities in Southeast Nigeria: A Study of Select Autonomous Communities in Anambra State, 2003 to 2023. Socialscientia 8(3)
17. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Anambra West, Ifeku and Ilushi are Igala speaking, and most people in those communities are Igala
18. Igwari, Ako. (2026). A Case for Equity: The Igga/Asaba narrative in Uzo-Uwani’s political journey. Vanguard
19. (2022). Igala footprints in Enugu. Daily Trust
20. Wikipedia contributors. Ilushi
21. Njoku, Benjamin. (2024). Ifeku Island: Unveiling Edo’s hidden gem as Nigeria’s top tourist destination. Vanguard
22. OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap place data
23. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: the Ifeku communities are located in Etsako East and Etsako Central
24. Oshimili North Local Government, Delta State. History of Oshimili North Local Government Area
25. Wikipedia contributors. Apa, Benue State
26. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: there are Igala in Benue State, as a minority
27. Wikivoyage contributors. Igala phrasebook (Wikivoyage): Igala is spoken across Kogi, Enugu, Anambra, Delta and Benue states
28. Egenti, Martha Chidimma. (2015). Multilingualism and the Ethnic Identity of the Ette People. Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies 4 (abstract read)
29. Wikipedia contributors. Igbo Eze North
30. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Ette (Etteh) in Igbo-Eze North speaks Igala, and some of its people speak Idoma
31. Chukwudi, Usman; Opone, Paul Oshagwu. (2024). Eteh in Pre-Colonial Nigeria: Origin and Social History. Abraka Journal of Humanities, Law & Social Sciences 1 (1): 21-30
32. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Etteh is ruled by an Igala king, its people are mostly Igala and Idoma, and Igbo settlement there is small
33. Wikipedia contributors. Unuedegor (sections, founding from Egor, Igala settlers from Idah at Ojuwo)
34. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Unuedegor, and its Ojuwo section in particular, has a historical and resident population of Igala origin
35. Wikipedia contributors. Anambra West
36. (2024). Post listing the Igala towns of Anambra West LGA (X, @middlebeltabi)
37. Adeoye, Faith. (2021). Igala-speaking community protests marginalisation in Anambra. Nigerian Tribune
38. Wikipedia contributors. Nzam (Wikipedia; its People and language section was rewritten on 2026-10-06 without a citation, so it is used only for the village list and location)
39. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: Nzam, headquarters of Anambra West, is home to indigenous Igala speakers
40. (2025). Nzam Town: history, culture, festival and lifestyle in Anambra State. Nnewi City
41. Adibe, Tony. (2017). 500 Years Of Igalas In Enugu. Daily Trust
42. (2020). Why Igala People Speak Igbo Fluently, Enugu Traditional Ruler (interview with HRH Igwe Emmanuel Emeka Umunna of Ojjor). The Whistler