Cities of Nigeria

Aba, Abia State

Aba, the Enyimba City, is the commercial and manufacturing hub of Abia State, Nigeria, on the Aba River between Port Harcourt and Umuahia. Known for Ariaria International Market, the Made in Aba footwear and garment clusters, and its 1913 railway link.

Abeokuta

Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State in southwestern Nigeria, founded about 1830 by the Egba under Sodeke beneath Olumo Rock; name means 'under the rock'; grew from 399,000 (2000) to over 533,000 (2020) as a Lagos satellite city.

Agege

Agege, a local government area in north-west mainland Lagos, Nigeria; a former Awori railway market town, home of Agege bread, 7 wards, about 460,000 people (2006), and a Red Line rail station.

Akure

Akure, capital of Ondo State, Nigeria since 1976, a medium-sized Yoruba city in the southwest. Seat of the Deji, home of FUTA; built-up land grew from 14% (1991) to 38% (2020).

Asaba

Asaba is an Igbo town on the west bank of the Niger River, opposite Onitsha in Delta State, Nigeria, briefly capital of the Royal Niger Company in the mid-1880s.

Atani

Atani is a city on the eastern bank of the Niger River in Anambra State, Nigeria, headquarters of Ogbaru Local Government Area; population about 230,000, near Onitsha, with namesakes in Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Bangladesh.

Badagry

Badagry is a coastal town in Lagos State, southwestern Nigeria, about 57 kilometers from Lagos, once a major embarkation port of the historic Slave Coast.

Bauchi (city)

Bauchi is a city in northeastern Nigeria and the capital of Bauchi State, founded around 1809 on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau and named for a hunter, Baushe.

Bida

Bida is a city in Niger State, north-central Nigeria, seat of the Bida Emirate and the Etsu Nupe (Yahaya Abubakar since 2003). Founded mid-19th century as Nupe capital, known for brass, glass, and dyeing crafts.

Calabar

Calabar (Akwa Akpa) is a port city and capital of Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. Founded by the Efik, it was a major slave and palm oil port, first Oil Rivers Protectorate capital, and hosts the Calabar Festival.

Daura

Daura is a city and traditional emirate in Katsina State, northern Nigeria, regarded in Hausa tradition as the oldest of the Hausa states and setting of the Bayajidda legend.

Efon-Alaaye

Efon-Alaaye (Efon Alaaye) is a hilly town in Ekiti State, Nigeria, headquarters of Efon LGA (created 1996), seat of the Alaaye, founded per oral tradition by the Aaye from Ile-Ife, farming cocoa and kola.

Enugu

Enugu, the Coal City, capital of Enugu State in southeastern Nigeria, founded in 1909 after coal was discovered at Udi hill; long-serving regional capital, Igbo cultural hub, about 1.1 million residents.

Gboko

Gboko is a town and local government area in Benue State, Nigeria, headquarters of the Tiv division since 1932 and seat of the Tor Tiv, the Tiv paramount ruler.

Gusau

Gusau is a city in northwestern Nigeria, capital of Zamfara State and seat of Gusau LGA since the state's creation in 1996; hot semi-arid climate, Hausa-Fulani population, about 383,000 LGA residents (2006).

Idah

Idah is a town on the eastern bank of the Niger River in Kogi State, Nigeria, and the traditional capital of the Igala Kingdom, seat of the Attah Igala.

Ikare

Ikare (Ikare-Akoko, Ìkàré-Àkókó) is a Yoruba city in Ondo State, Nigeria, headquarters of Akoko North-East LGA, founded by Ile-Ife migrants under the Olukare dynasty and a major cocoa and food-crops trading center.

Ikeja

Ikeja, capital of Lagos State, Nigeria, and an LGA on the Lagos mainland; seat of the state secretariat at Alausa, home of Murtala Muhammed Airport and Computer Village; designated state capital in 1976.

Ikire

Ikire (Ìkirè) is a Yoruba town in Osun State, Nigeria, headquarters of Irewole LGA and gateway to the state from Oyo; known for Dodo Ikire plantain snack, the Akire stool, and River Osun basin farming.

Ikot Ekpene

Ikot Ekpene is a town and local government area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, inhabited mainly by the Annang people and known as "The Raffia City" for its raffia weaving.

Ila Orangun

Ila Orangun (Ìlá Òràngún) is a historic Yoruba city in Osun State, Nigeria, seat of the Ila Local Government Area and one of the original Yoruba kingdoms.

Ile-Ife

Ile-Ife (Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba city in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria, regarded as the birthplace of Yoruba civilization and seat of the Ooni of Ife.

Ilesa

Ilesa (Ilesha, Iléṣà), city in Osun State, Nigeria, capital of the Ijesa kingdom, founded c.1500, ruled by the Owa Obokun; agricultural and commercial hub with gold deposits, about 325,000 people.

Ilorin

Ilorin, capital of Kwara State, Nigeria, in northern Yorubaland; an Old Oyo settlement that became Afonja's stronghold, then an emirate incorporated into the Sokoto Caliphate in 1829.

Iseyin

Iseyin (Ìsẹ́yìn) is a Yoruba city and LGA headquarters in Oyo State, Nigeria, about 100 km north of Ibadan, famed for Aso-Oke handwoven cloth; founded by Prince Ogbolu of Ile-Ife in the early 15th century, population about 365,300 (2026).

Iwo

Iwo is a historic Yoruba city and local government headquarters in Osun State, Nigeria, about 45 km from Ibadan and Osogbo, ruled by the Oluwo of Iwoland, with about 250,000 residents, an agricultural trading economy, and a railway link from Ibadan.

Jimeta

Jimeta, town in Adamawa State, Nigeria, twin of Yola on the Benue River; headquarters of Yola North LGA, established 1912 by the British, river port merged with Yola 1935, population about 198,000-248,000.

Kano, Kano State

Kano, capital of Kano State, Nigeria: ancient Hausa walled city and trans-Saharan trade hub, now northern Nigeria's largest city and commercial center, with 44 LGAs, about 15 million state residents, and a ₦10.87 trillion state GDP.

Katsina

Katsina is a city in northwestern Nigeria and the capital of Katsina State, near the border with Niger. A historic Hausa kingdom and emirate, it was a major center of trade and Islamic scholarship.