Nigeria: The Ebu tribe/sub tribe/ethnic group and connection to the Igala tribe
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 20 April 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | NGA36632.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nigeria: The Ebu tribe/sub tribe/ethnic group and connection to the Igala tribe, 20 April 2001, NGA36632.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be7f18.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No reports on the Ebu tribe could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Edu, Idah, Ankpa, and Ibaji are dialects of the Igala [also spelt Igara] language spoken in Benue State in Nigeria. Igala is "used in initial primary school" (1996, 348).
The following information on the Igala was obtained from The New Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Igala, also spelled Igara, [are] a largely Muslim people of Nigeria, living on the left bank of the Niger below its junction with the Benue River. Their language belongs to the Kwa subgroup of the Niger-Congo family. Their ruler, the ata, also governs two other groups, the Bassa Nge and the Bass Nkome, who live between the Igala and the Benue River.
Traditional Igala society was politically organized as a despotic kingdom: kings were divine, held absolute power, and were surrounded by numerous tabooes; they held elaborate courts attended by a host of officials and servants, many of them slaves and eunuchs. Human sacrifice and headhunting were practised.
The Igala are primarily an agricultural people, growing a wide range of crops typical of the area including yams, taro, pumpkins, squash, maize, manioc, and groundnuts (peanuts). Palm oil and kernels have become significant as cash crops. Christian missionaries have worked among the Igala since 1865, converting many in the towns and larger villes; Islam, however, remains the stronger force (1989, 246).
According to the Post Express Wired, the Igala, the Ebira and the Okun ( a variant of Yoruba tongue), currently live in Kogi State which was carved out of "the old Benue and Kwara States" (17 May 1998). The Igala are the most populous, numbering a little above 400,000 and are found in the eastern flank of the state. They control nine out of the 21 local government areas of the state and are predominantly muslims" (ibid).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1996. 13th ed. Edited by Barbara V. Grimes. Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc. Dallas: Texas.
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. Micropaedia. Vol. 6. London: Encylopaedoa Britannica.
Post Express Wired [Ikeja]. 17 May 1998. "In Kogi, Aspirants Out-number the Tracks."
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa News Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series.
Amnesty International Report 1999-2000.
Country Reports for 2000. 2001.
Keesing's Record of World Events.
IRB Databases. LEXIS/NEXIS
Resource Centre. Country File. Nigeria.
West Africa.
Internet sites including,
Africa News.
Religious Freedom.
Vanguard.
Search Engines including:
Mamma
