Ibrahim IV was a titled Mai of the Kanuri state of Bornu

Bornu

Bornu may refer to:* Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa* Borno State, Nigeria...

 from 1820-1846. He was one of the last rulers from the Sefawa ruling dynasty.

Emerging opposition

Ibrahim's father, and previous ruler of Bornu, had called on El-Kanemi, an Islamic Scholar and Warrior, to help him fight against the Fulani's and their leader Goni Mukhtar. The two were able to push back the Fulani's from much of Bornu. In the process, El-Kanemi grew powerful and was a threat to the Sefawa ruling house which had produced Ibrahim and his father, Dunama. Dunama was later killed in a failed putsch to murder El-Kanemi. His son, Ibrahim succeeded him. When El Kanemi died in 1837, he was succeeded by his son, Umar. The two figures became enmeshed in a battle of supremacy and they renewed hostilities between the Kanemis and the Sefawas. Ibrahim hatched a plan to kill Umar by inviting an external army from Wadai under the command of the Sultan

Sultan

Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

 of Wadai. However, Umar knew about the plan before had and killed Ibrahim before fleeing Bornu. Further, continuing the assault on the Safawa ruling dynasty

Dynasty

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

.