The Idoma are an ethno-linguistic group that primarily inhabit lower and western areas of Benue State

Benue State

Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...

, 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...

, and kindred groups can be found in Cross Rivers and Nasarawa States in Nigeria. The Idoma are closely related to the Igbo people

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...

. The Idoma language

Idoma language

The Idoma is an official language spoken in central Nigeria by nearly a million people....

 is classified in the Akweya subgroup of the Idomoid languages

Idomoid languages

The Idomoid languages are spoken in central Nigeria. Idoma itself is an official language spoken by nearly a million people, and Igede by about a quarter million.-Languages:*Yace *Etulo–Idoma**Etulo**Idoma: Idoma, Igede, Agatu, Alago, Yala...

 of the Volta–Niger family

Volta–Niger languages

The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 50 million speakers...

. The Akweya subgroup is closely related to the Yatye-Akpa sub-group. The bulk of the territory is inland, south of river Benue, some seventy-two kilometers east of its confluence with river Niger.