Ebelle, one of the major Esan kingdoms in

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, is a populated place located in

Igueben Igueben is a local government area of Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are located in the town of Igueben, which has an area of and a population of 69,639 according to the 2006 census. The postal code is 310. History Igueben was founded aro ...

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of Edo State, Nigeria. Within Ebelle are the villages of Owa,

Ologhe The Ologhe community is one of the communities making up the Ebelle Kingdom in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Written records do not exist about their origin. However, other things that are known about this people is that, l ...

, Okuta, Okpujie, Idumowu, and Eguare.

Origin

Ebelle was founded in the middle of the 14th century AD when Prince Agbabhoko of Uta-gbunuo clan of

Kwale Kwale is a small town in Mombasa and the capital of Kwale County, Kenya. It is located at ; 30 km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland. The town had an urban population of 10,063 (2019 census). It is next to the Shimba Hills Nation ...

migrated from his community to the area now known as Ebelle because of a political crisis in his place of origin. This happened during the reign of Oba Ogbeka of

Benin Kingdom The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's c ...

(during his reign, there was wide spread migration from Benin to escape wars, search for an adventure or a convenient place of abode). When Prince Agbabhoko came to Ebelle, he told the people of his royal pedigree. As a result, he was made king. When news of the prince reached the

Oba of Benin The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Daho ...

, he was summoned. The Oba was impressed with the prince and placed him under royal protection. He was also given a royal sword of rulership over Ebelle thereby solidifying his reign as king.

Leadership

Ebelle is ruled by a king, called Onojie by the Esan people. Since the history of Ebelle Kingdom, it has been ruled by 17 Onojies. The Onojie rules from the administrative capital - Eguare. Below is a list of all the Onojies of Ebelle from its founding till date: # Agbabhoko (1410 - 1459) # Omlu (1459 - 1462) # Idigba (1462 - 1575) # Okokhere (1575 - 1611) # Okisi (1611 - 1672) # Imi (1672 - 1720) # Enohomijie (1720 - 1782) - the longest reigning king # Iguare (1782 - 1790) # Osawemen (1790 - 1800) # Ogun (1800 - 1849) # Ogbeide (1849 - 1880) # Akhuiwu (1880 - 1899) # Akhimien (1899 - 1907) # Emovuon (1907 - 1910) - the shortest reigning king # Igbinigie (1910 - 1971) # Imadogiemu (1971 - 1998) # Aikpaogie (1998 - present)

References

{{reflist Edo State