List of Nigerian traditional states

There are many traditional states in Nigeria.^[1] A partial list follows. Although the traditional rulers^[2] no longer officially have political power, they still have considerable status in Nigeria and the power of patronage.^[3] Except where otherwise noted, names of traditional rulers are based on the World Statesmen.org list.^[4]

State	Region	Ethnic group	Capital	Present ruler	Accession date	Title	Notes
Abuja							Now the Suleja Emirate
Abureni Kingdom	Southsouth	Ogbia	Iduma	Collins Ebi Daniel	2008	Olila-Ebhugh
Adamawa	North	Fulani	Yola	Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu Musdafa	2010	Lamido
Adara Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Adara	Kachia	Maiwada Galadima	2007	Agom Adara
Ado-Odo	Southwest	Yoruba	Ado-Odo	Olusola Idris Osolo Otenibotemole II	2024	Olofin Adimula Oodua	Formerly Oba of Ado
Agaie	North	Nupe	Agaie	Yussuf Nuhu	2014	Etsu
Agbor	South	Ika	Agbor	Benjamin Ikechukwu Kiagborekuzi I	1979	Dein
Ake	Southwest	Yoruba	Abeokuta	Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III	2005	Alake	Part of the confederation of Egbaland
Akure	Southwest	Yoruba	Akure	Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi	2015	Deji
Akwa Akpa	Southeast	Ibibio	Calabar	Bassey Ekpo Bassey II	2008	Edidem
Atyap Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Atyap	Zangon Kataf	Dominic Yahaya	2016	Agwatyap or Agwam Atyap
Badagry	South west	Gunu/Yoruba	Badagry	De Wheno-Aholu-Menu-Toyi 1	1977	Oba Akran of Badagry
Bade	North	Bade	Gashua	Abubakar Umar Suleiman	2005	Mai Bade
Bajju Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Bajju	Zonkwa	Nuhu Bature	1995	Agwam Bajju
Bashar State	North	Basharawa	Bashar	Adamu Idris	1963	Sarki
Bauchi	North	Gera/Fulani	Bauchi	Rilwanu Adamu Jumba	2010	Emir
Benin	South	Edo	Benin City	Ewuare II	2016	Oba
Bichi	North	Hausa	Bichi	Nasiru Ado Bayero	2019	Emir
Bida	North	Nupe	Bida	Yahaya Abubakar	2003	Etsu
Biu	North	Bura	Biu	Mustapha Umar Mustapha II	2020	Emir
Birnin Gwari	North	Gwari/Hausa	Birnin Gwari	Zubairu Jibrin Mai Gwari II	1993	Emir
Bonny	South	Ijaw	Bonny	Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III	1996	Amanyanabo	Also called Okolo-Ama
Borgu	Middle Belt	Bariba	New Bussa	Muhammad Haliru Dantoro Kitoro IV	2015	Emir	Formed by merging Bussa and Kaiama
Borno	North	Kanuri	Maiduguri	Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi	2009	Shehu
Brass	Southeast	Ijaw	Brass, Nigeria	Alfred Diete-Spiff		Amayanabo	Once part of Nembe
Bussa							See Borgu
Bwari/Bwaya Kingdom	Middle belt	Gbagyi/Gwari	Bwari/Bwaya Kingdom	Ibrahim Yaro	2007	Esu
Calabar (Old)							see Akwa Akpa
Calabar (New)							see Kalabari Kingdom
Damaturu	North	Kanuri	Damaturu	Hashimi II El-Kanemi		Emir
Daura	North	Hausa/Fulani	Daura	Faruk Umar Faruk	2007	Emir
Dikwa	North	Kanuri	Dikwa	Mohammed Masta II Ibn Alamin El-Kanemi^[5]	2010	Shehu	Divided into Bama and Dikwa Emirates in 2010
Ebira	Middle Belt	Igbirra	Koton Karifi	Shuaibu Mamman Lafiya^[6]	1970	Ohimegye
Ebiraland	Middle Belt	Ebira	Okene	Ahmed Tijane Anaje	2024	Ohinoyi
Edem	South East	Igala/Igbo	Edem	Nwabueze Annekwempaha Ezea II	July 2009	Eze Edem	The king's traditional salutation is Agaba-Idu. Formerly known as Christopher Nwabueze Ezea II, he took a regnal name on the anniversary of his decennial on the throne.
Edo							See Benin
Eko							see Lagos
Ekpeye Kingdom	Southsouth	Igbo	Ekpeye	Robinson Okpoluwon Robinson CON	1978	Eze Ekpeyelogbo
Eri	Southeast	Igbo	Aguleri	Chukwuemeka Eri, Ezeora XXXIV	1976	Eze Eri	The Custodian of the Sacred Ovo Eri
Fantswam (Kafanchan) Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Atyap	Kafanchan	Josiah Kantiyok	2019	Agwam Fantswam	Renamed "Zikpak Chiefdom" by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Elrufai
Fika	North	Bole	Potiskum	Muhammadu Abali Ibn Muhammadu Idrissa	2009	Moi	Distinct from the Potiskum Emirate, also based in Potiskum
Gobir	North	Hausa/Fulani	Sabon Birni			Sarkin	Originally a Hausa city-state, conquered by the Fulani in the 19th century
Gombe	North	Fulani	Gombe	Abubakar Shehu Abubakar	2014	Modibo
Gujba Emirate	North	Manga	Gujba	Shettima Muktar Ibn Ali Gangaram	2000	Emir	Formerly part of the Fika Emirate
Gumel	North	Hausa/Fulani	Gumel	Ahmad Muhammad Sani dan Maina Muhammad	1981	Emir
Gusau	North	Hausa/Fulani	Gusau	Muhammadu Kabir Danbaba	1997	Emir or Sarkin Katsina	The rulers of Katsina and Maradi also use the title "Sarkin Katsina"
Gwandu	North	Hausa/Fulani	Gwandu	Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar		Emir
Hadejia	North	Hausa/Fulani	Hadejia	Adamu Abubakar Maje	2002	Emir
Ham (Jaba) Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Ham	Kwoi	Jonathan Gyet Maude	1974	Kpop Ham
Ibadan Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ibadan	Owolabi Olakulehin	2024	Olubadan
Idah							see Igala
Idoani	Southwest	Yoruba	Idoani	Olufemi Olutoye	2014	Alani
Idoma Kingdom	Middle Belt	Idoma	Otukpo	Elias Ikoyi Obekpa Och'Idoma IV		Och'Idoma
Igala	Middle Belt	Igala	Idah	Idakwo Ameh Oboni II	2012	Attah
Igbomina Kingdom	Middle Belt	Yoruba	Omu-Aran	Abdulraheem Oladele Adeoti (Olomu Efon II)	1993	Olomu	Related to the Igbomina state in general
Ijebu Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ijebu Ode	Sikiru Kayode Adetona Ogbagba II	1960	Awujale
Ijebu-Remo	Southwest	Yoruba	Sagamu	Babatunde Adewale Ajayi	2017	Akarigbo	See also Ijebu Kingdom, List of rulers of Remo
Ijesaland							see Ilesa
Ikale Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ikoya Ikale	George Faduyile, Adegun ll	1998	Abodi	Paramount Rulers of Ikale land Okitipupa, Irele and Odigbo local government
Ikateland Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Lagos	Alayeluwa Saheed Ademola Elegushi, Kusenla II	27 April 2010	Oba	House of Kusenla
Ile Ife	Southwest	Yoruba	Ife	Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II	2015	Ooni	One of the two ranking Yoruba monarchs
Ilesa Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ilesa			Owa
Ilorin	Middle Belt	Yoruba/Fulani	Ilorin	Ibrahim Sulu Gambari		Emir
Ipokia Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ipokia	Raufu Oladeinde Adetunji Adeole Onigbaale III	1985	Onipokia
Iroko Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Iroko	Olasunkanmi Abioye Opeola, Kurunloju I	2011	Oniroko
Isedo	Southwest	Yoruba	Ila Orangun	Oyedeji Ajide		Obalumo	Related to the Isedo Clan (with its own Obalumo) of the Igbomina state of Oke Ila Orangun
Isinkan	Southwest	Yoruba	Isinkan			Iralepo
Itele	Southwest	Yoruba	Itele, Ijebu-East	Mufutau Adesanya Kasali Iboriaran I	2003	Moyegeso	See also Ijebu Kingdom, Jones Adenola Ogunde Adeyoruwa II reigned until 1996
Itsekiri							see Kingdom of Warri
Jajere Emirate	North	Fulani	Tarmuwa	Hamza Mai Buba Ibn Isa Mashio	2000	Emir, Mai, Lamido or Sarkin Jajere	divided into Jajere & Ngelzarma Emirates
Jama'are Emirate	North	Hausa/Fulani	Jama'are	Muhammadu Wabi IV dan Muhammadu Wabi	1975	Emir
Jema'a Emirate	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Jema'a	Muhammadu dan Isa	1999	Emir
Jos	Middle belt	Berom	Jos	Jacob Gyang Buba	2009	Gbong Gwom
Jukun							see Wukari
Kagara Emirate Kagoro	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani Atyap	Kagoro	Alhaji Ahmad Garba Gunna Attahiru II Ufuwai Bonet	2021 2008	Emir Agwam Agworok	A diarchy
Kaiama							Merged with Bussa into Borgu
Kalabari	Southsouth	Ijaw	Buguma			Amanyanabo
Kano	North	Hausa/Fulani	Kano	Muhammadu Sanusi II	2024	Emir
Karu Kingdom	Middle Belt	Gbagyi/Gwari	Karu	Luka Panya Baba	2004	Esu
Katagum	North	Fulani/Kanuri	Katagum	Umar Muhammadu Kabir Umar	2017	Emir
Katsina	North	Hausa/Fulani	Katsina	Abdulmumini Kabir Usman	2008	Emir or Sarkin Katsina	The rulers of Gusau and Maradi also use the title "Sarkin Katsina"
Kazaure	North	Hausa/Fulani	Kazaure	Najib Husaini Adamu		Emir
Keana Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Agatu	Keana	Abdullahi Amegwa	2016	Osana of Keana
Kebbi	North	Hausa/Fulani	Birnin Kebbi	Sama'ila Muhammad Mera	1996	Amir Argungu
Keffi Emirate	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Keffi	Muhammadu Cindo Yamusa II		Emir
Kontagora	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Kontagora	Muhammad Bara'u Mu'azu	2021	Sarkin Sudan
Kumbwada	Niger State			Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed	1998	Queen
Kupa	Middle Belt	Kupa/Nupe	Abugi	Muhammadu Kabiru Isah II	1967	Maiyaki
Lafia	North	Kanuri	Lafia	Sidi Bage	2019	Emir	Sarkin Lafia
Lafiagi Emirate	Middle Belt	Nupe	Lafiagi	Mohammed Kudu Kawu	2021	Etsu	Fulani jihad state founded 1824
Lagos	Southwest	Yoruba	Lagos	Rilwan Babatunde Osuolale Aremu Akiolu I	2003	Oba	Formerly known as Eko
Lapai	Middle Belt	Nupe	Lapai	Umaru Bago Tafida	2002	Etsu
Lere	Middle Belt		Lere	Umaru Mohammed Sani		Emir
Machina	North	Manga	Machina	Bashir Albishir Bukar^[7]		Emir
Misau Emirate	North	Kanuri/Fulani	Misau	Ahmed Suleiman	2015	Emir
Moroa	Middle Belt	Atyap	Manchok	Tagwai Sambo	1966	Agwam Asholyio
Mubi Emirate	Middle Belt		Mubi	Abu Bakar Isa Ahmadu		Emir
Muri Taraba	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Muri Taraba	Abbas Tafida^[8]	1988	Emir
Nasarawa Emirate	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Nasarawa	Ibrahim Usman Jibril	2018	Emir
Nembe	Southsouth	Ijaw	Nembe	Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, Mingi XII	2008	Amanyanabo
Nembe Bassambiri	Southsouth	Ijaw	Bassambiri			Amanyanabo
Ningi	North	Hausa/Fulani	Ningi	Yunusa Muhammad Danyaya		Chief
Nnewi	Southeast	Igbo	Nnewi	Kenneth Onyeneke Orizu III	1963	Igwe
Nri	Southeast	Igbo	Agukwu	Enweleana II Obidiegwo Onyeso	1988	Eze Nri	Holder of the highest and most revered ofo in Igboland, the Ofo Nri-Menri.
Obioko Kingdom	Southeast		Obioko	Ekpo Eyo Abassi Eyo III	2008	Obong
Oke Ila Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Oke Ila	Olufemi Oladapo Babalola		Obalumo	Related to the Igbomina state of Isedo
Oke-Ona Egba	Southwest	Yoruba	Abeokuta	Adedapo Adewale Tejuoso Karunwi III	1989	Oshile	Part of the confederation of Egbaland
Okolo-Ama							Otherwise known as Bonny since colonial times
Okpe	South-South	Urhobo	Orerokpe	Orhue I	2006	Orodje
Okrika	Southeast		Okrika	Alfred Semenitari Abam Ado IX	2002	Amanyanabo
Ondo	Southwest	Yoruba	Ondo	Adesimbo Victor Kiladejo	2006	Osemawe
Onitsha	Southeast	Igbo	Onitsha	Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe	2002	Obi
Orlu	Southeast	Igbo	Orlu	Patrick II Acholonu	2009	Igwe XI, Duru IX
Oshogbo	Southwest	Yoruba	Oshogbo	Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun	2010	Ataoja
Owerri	Southeast	Igbo	Owerri	Emmanuel E. Njemanze	1989	Ozuruigbo
Owo	Southwest	Yoruba	Owo	Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III	2019	Olowo
Owu	Southwest	Yoruba	Abeokuta	Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu II	2005	Olowu	Part of the confederation of Egbaland
Oyo	Southwest	Yoruba	Oyo			Alaafin	One of the two ranking Yoruba monarchs
Pategi	Middle Belt	Nupe	Pategi	Umar Bologi II	2019	Etsu
Potiskum	North	Ngizim	Potiskum	Umar Bubaram^[9]		Emir	Not to be confused with the Fika Emirate, based in the same town
Rano	North	Hausa/Fulani
Sokoto	North	Hausa/Fulani	Sokoto	Sa'adu Abubakar	2006	Sultan	See also List of Sultans of Sokoto
Suleja	Middle Belt	Hausa/Fulani	Suleja	Awwal Ibrahim	2000	Sarkin Zazzau	Formerly Abuja Emirate
Tiv	Middle belt	Tiv	Gboko	James Ayatse	2016	Tor Tiv
Tula Chiefdom	Middle Belt	Tula	Kaltungo, Gombe	Abubakar Buba Atare II	2009	Mai
Ubani							see Bonny
Ugbo-Igbo	Southeast	Igbo	Ugbo town	Godwin Ebem Udeonu	October 1978	Igwe
Ugbo Kingdom	Southwest	Yoruba	Ilaje	Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan	2009	Olugbo
Ughelli Kingdom	Southsouth	Urhobo	Otovowodo	Ajuwe Oharisi III	1992	Ovie
Warri	Southsouth	Itsekiri	Ode-Itsekiri	Ogiame Atuwatse III	2021	Olu	Olu of Warri. See also kingdom of Warri 1478
Wase				Muhammadu Sambo Haruna	October 2010	Emir	Fulani Emirate
Wukari	Middle Belt	Jukun	Wukari	Manu Ishaku Ada Ali	28 January 2022	Aku Uka
Yauri	North	Hausa/Fulani	Yauri	Muhammad Zayyanu		Sarkin
Zamfara Emirate	North	Hausa/Fulani	Gusau	Muhammad Attahiru Ahmad		Sarkin
Zaria							Alternate name for Zazzau Emirate
Zazzau	North	Hausa/Fulani	Zaria	Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli	2020	Sarkin	The ruler of the Suleja Emirate also uses the title "Sarkin Zazzau"

References

^ "Nigerian Traditional States". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
^ Simwa, Adrianna (2022-08-30). "Kings and their titles in Nigeria: List of traditional rulers". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
^ Chris Ewokor (1 August 2007). "Nigerians go crazy for a title". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
^ "Traditional States of Nigeria". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
^ Abdulkareem Haruna (28 March 2010). "Kingmakers Crown New Shehu of Dikwa". Daily Independent. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
^ PIUS ALAO (2009-10-26). "Otaru Tasks Ebira Nation On Unity". Nigerian Observer. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
^ "Machina Emirate Council". Machina Emirate. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
^ Tashikalmah Hallah (13 July 1988). "Emir of Muri Crisis Resolved - Nyame". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
^ Japhet Madaki (9 August 2010). "Mai Potiskum hails appointment of Bauchi Emir". Peoples Daily. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

[1] "Nigerian Traditional States". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 2022-12-15.

[2] Simwa, Adrianna (2022-08-30). "Kings and their titles in Nigeria: List of traditional rulers". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 2022-12-15.

[3] Chris Ewokor (1 August 2007). "Nigerians go crazy for a title". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

[wstates-4] "Traditional States of Nigeria". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

[5] Abdulkareem Haruna (28 March 2010). "Kingmakers Crown New Shehu of Dikwa". Daily Independent. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

[6] PIUS ALAO (2009-10-26). "Otaru Tasks Ebira Nation On Unity". Nigerian Observer. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-09-04.

[7] "Machina Emirate Council". Machina Emirate. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2010-09-02.

[8] Tashikalmah Hallah (13 July 1988). "Emir of Muri Crisis Resolved - Nyame". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2010-09-04.

[9] Japhet Madaki (9 August 2010). "Mai Potiskum hails appointment of Bauchi Emir". Peoples Daily. Retrieved 2010-09-01.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t e Nigerian traditional states
Emirates	Adamawa Agaie Bade Bauchi Bida Biu Borgu Borno Damaturu Daura Dikwa Fika Gombe Gumel Ilorin Kebbi Kontagora Lapai Muri Potiskum Sokoto Suleja Yauri Zazzau Patigi
Kingdoms	Akure Benin Bonny Gobir Igala Ijebu Iwo Kalabari Kumbwada Nembe Okpe Ondo Opobo Warri Hausa Bassa Nge
Other	Akwa Akpa Egba Alake Idoani Isedo Oke Ila Wukari

See also

References