The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition by a British force of 1,200 men under Sir Harry Rawson. It came in response to the ambush and slaughter of a 250 strong party led by British Acting Consul General James Phillips of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Rawson's troops captured Benin City and the Kingdom of Benin was eventually absorbed into colonial Nigeria. The expedition freed about 100 Africans enslaved by the Oba.
The Ijaw people, also spelled Ịjọ, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary population clusters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They are also have significant population clusters in Edo, Ondo and small parts of Akwa Ibom occupying six Nigerian states. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps and settlements in Benue, and Kogi states and as far west as Sierra Leone, Ghana and as far east as Gabon. As of 2023, Nigeria's Ijaw population is estimated at over 15 million, accounting for around 6.9% of the country's 223 million people, positioning them as the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The Ijaws are the most populous tribe inhabiting the Niger Delta region, and one of the world's most ancient peoples.
Delta State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers states, and that south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The state was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991, but was later expanded to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Its capital city is Asaba which is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the state, while the state's economic center is the city of Warri on the southwestern coastline.
The Itsekiri are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo, Edo and Delta State. The Itsekiris presently transcends a population of over 1 million people and live mainly in parts of Ondo, Edo and majorly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria.
Udu is a Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria with its local government headquarters at Otor-Udu. It has a population estimate of approximately 250,000 people. It is one of the Urhobo kingdoms, has its own king, or ovie. The town is about 10 minutes drive from Osubi Airport
UVWIE
Effurun is a town and the headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria. It is an Urban center, densely populated with different infrastructural development. it borders its twin city Warri, also serves as an entrance to Warri.
Koko is the major town in and the headquarters of Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, South South Nigeria. It is one of the major towns in the Niger Delta region.
The Warri Crisis was a series of conflicts in Delta State, Nigeria between 1997 and 2003 between the Itsekiri, the Ijaw ethnic groups. Over 200,000 people were displaced by the Warri conflict between 1999 and 2006. Over 700,000 people were displaced during this period by violence in Delta State overall.
The Itsekiri language is a major branch of the Yoruboid group of languages, which as a group, is a key member of the Volta–Niger sub-family of the Niger–Congo family of African languages. Itsekiri is spoken by nearly 1,000,000 people in Nigeria as a first language and by many others as an additional language notably in the Niger Delta and in parts of Edo and Ondo states of Nigeria. The other key members of the Yoruboid group are Yoruba and Igala along with the various Yoruba dialects spoken in Benin and Togo.
The Urhobos are people located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta. They are the major ethnic groups in Delta State. The people in this ethnic group speak the Urhobo language. Their population is approximately 7 million.
The Kingdom of Warri, Warri Kingdom or Iwere Kingdom, was established in 1480, was part of the Nigerian traditional states its ancestral capital is based in Ode-Itsekiri, Warri South LGA, Delta State, Nigeria with a palace erected in 1950s in the heart of the city of Warri, Warri South LGA, Delta State, Nigeria.
Hussey College Warri is a secondary school located along Upper Erejuwa Road in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in Delta State and Nigeria, having produced many notable figures in the Nigerian professional and political scenery. The school has literally raised several generations of Nigerians from all tribes and backgrounds and schooled them in the best tradition of scholarship, athleticism, citizenship and morality. The 60th anniversary celebration of the foundation of Hussey College, Warri was organised by the Old Students Association in 2007.
The Midwest Invasion of 1967 or Midwest Offensive, codenamed Operation Torch, was a military operation between Nigerian and Biafran military forces during the Nigerian Civil War. The invasion began on August 9 when 3,000 Biafran soldiers led by General Victor Banjo crossed the River Niger Bridge into Asaba. Upon reaching Agbor, the Biafrans split up. With the 12th Battalion moving west capturing Benin City and Ore, the 18th Battalion swung south, taking Warri, Sapele and Ughelli, while the 13th Battalion headed north for Auchi, Agenebode and Okene. Simultaneously, a plot to capture Mid-Western Governor David Ejoor at his home in Benin failed. Nevertheless, the Biafrans, meeting virtually no resistance, had seized the entire Mid-Western Region in less than 12 hours.
According to the language family tree classification by Ethnologue, Okpe, Urhobo and Uvwie, alongside Eruwa and Isoko, make up the five Southwestern Edoid languages of the Benue-Congo group. Quoting Johnstone (1993), Ethnologue puts the population of Urhobo people at 546,000, Okpe 25,400 (2000) and Uvwie 19,800 (2000). These three languages have geographically neighbouring languages: Izon and Itsekiri to the west and south, Ukwuani and Isoko to the east and Edo to the north. Thus, Isoko and Urhobo are similar languages that belong to the same linguistic family.
The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) is a militant group operating in Nigeria's Niger Delta region. The group was founded on August 2, 2016 in Delta State and is composed mainly of ethnic Urhobos, and a fairly large number of members belonging to the Isoko ethnic group.
The South South is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. It designates both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
Ubeji Community is an Itsekiri community located in the Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Ubeji community is near the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company in Warri, Warri South and as such, suffers huge environmental pollution. It is home to a large number of Itsekiris, it is a Suburb of the City of Warri It shares boundaries with Ifie Community, Aja-Etan Community, Ijala-Ikenren Community, Ekpan Community, etc.
The 2023 Nigerian presidential election in Delta State will be held on 25 February 2023 as part of the nationwide 2023 Nigerian presidential election to elect the president and vice president of Nigeria. Other federal elections, including elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate, will also be held on the same date while state elections will be held two weeks afterward on 11 March.
Warri State is a proposed state intended to be formed for the Itsekiri people, who inhabit the regions of Warri South, Warri South West, Warri North, and itsekiri parts of Edo State in Nigeria. The movement for the creation of Warri State stems from concerns regarding the marginalization of the Itsekiri people by the Delta State Government and the pursuit of lasting peace in the Niger Delta region. The Itsekiri people demand that the proposed state be geographically located in the South West region of Nigeria, citing their shared common ancestry with the Yoruba and their shared borders with the Yoruba people of Ondo State.
