Ibi is a town and administrative district in Taraba State

Taraba State

Taraba State is a state of Nigeria, named after the Taraba River which traverses the southern part of the state. Taraba's capital is Jalingo.-History:...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. The town is located on the south bank of the Benue River

Benue River

The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...

, opposite the influx of the much smaller Shemankar River. Both the Taraba River

Taraba River

The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River.The major towns along the River Taraba are Sert-Baruwa, Sarki Ruwa, Karamti, Jamtari, Gangumi, Gayam and Bali LGA. The major economic activities on the river are fishing, farming of rice, yam, groundnut.the major...

 and the Donga River

Donga River

The Donga River is a river in Nigeria and Cameroon. The river arises from the Mambilla Plateau in southeastern Nigeria, forms part of the international border between Nigeria and Cameroon, and flows northwest to eventually merge with the Benue River in Nigeria....

 flow into the Benue within the LGA.

Ibi is one of the sixteen local government areas of Taraba State, and is governed by an elected chairman.

History

Ibi was located where the traditional land trade route of eastern Igboland

Igbo people

Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 crossed the river trade route of the Benue River. It was part of the Jukon kingdom (1720-1815) whose capital, Kororofa, was 35 miles east (up river). After the Fulani

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 invasion Ibi became part of the Muri Emirate

Muri (Nigeria)

Muri is a town and traditional emirate in the northwestern Taraba State of eastern Nigeria, approximately between 9 and 11 40 E. and 7 10 and 9 40 N. The Benue River is nearby, and the portion on the southern bank of the river is watered by streams flowing from the Cameroon region to the Benue. ...

 (1817-1892). Like the rest of Muri it was under the French governor Louis Mizon

Louis Mizon

Louis Alexandre Antoine Mizon was a French explorer and colonial administrator.Born in Paris in 1853, Mizon entered in the French Navy in 1869. Between 1880 and 1883 he was at Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's orders, with whom he had difficulties working...

 from 1892-1893.

By 1899 the Niger Company established a trading station at Ibi, and by 1901 telegraph service to Lokoja

Lokoja

Lokoja is the capital city of Kogi State, in central Nigeria, and is a port on Niger River.-History:Founded by William Balfour Baikie according to European historical records, although there have been indigenous people living in the area for thousands of years...

had been established. The British took control in 1900 and established Ibi as the administrative headquarters of western Muri. As cotton was one of the major crops of the area, steam powered cotton gins were established in Ibi in the early 1920s.
The Nwonyo fishing festival is one of the major festivities in the area.