Egba

people

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June 26, 2026

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The Egba are a Yoruba-speaking people primarily located in southwestern Nigeria, particularly around Abeokuta. They are one of the subgroups of the Yoruba people who inhabit Ogun state. Historically, the Egba, led by Sodeke, founded a principality at Abeokuta after fleeing the Oyo empire. The Egba people are known for their rich cultural heritage, which is part of Nigeria's diverse cultural landscape.123

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Abeokuta
…hunter and leader of the Egba refugees who fled from the disintegrating Oyo empire. The town was also settled by missionaries (in the 1840s) and by Sierra Leone Creoles, who later became prominent as missionaries and as businessmen. Abeokuta’s success as the capital of the Egba and as a link…
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…hunter and leader of the Egba refugees who fled from the disintegrating Oyo empire. The town was also settled by missionaries (in the 1840s) and by Sierra Leone Creoles, who later became prominent as missionaries and as businessmen. Abeokuta’s success as the capital of the Egba and as a link…
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Ilaro
…the early 19th century, the Egbado kingdom was raided for slaves by the Dahomeyans until it was absorbed in the 1840s and ’50s by the more powerful Egba kingdom at Abeokuta (29 miles [47 km] northeast). As a subject town, Ilaro served the Egba as a trading post on the…
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…the early 19th century, the Egbado kingdom was raided for slaves by the Dahomeyans until it was absorbed in the 1840s and ’50s by the more powerful Egba kingdom at Abeokuta (29 miles [47 km] northeast). As a subject town, Ilaro served the Egba as a trading post on the…
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Ogun
…hunter and leader of the Egba refugees who fled from the disintegrating Oyo empire, founded about 1830 a principality at Abeokuta in what is now the north-central part of the state. Most of the inhabitants of Ogun state are members of the Egba and Egbado subgroups of the Yoruba people.
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…hunter and leader of the Egba refugees who fled from the disintegrating Oyo empire, founded about 1830 a principality at Abeokuta in what is now the north-central part of the state. Most of the inhabitants of Ogun state are members of the Egba and Egbado subgroups of the Yoruba people.
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