Jebba, town, Kwara state, western Nigeria. It lies on the south bank and at the natural head of navigation of the Niger River, 550 miles (885 km) from the sea. It is populated by the predominantly Muslim Nupe people, whose kingdom, refounded by Tsoede, flourished in the region in the early 16th century. From this period date the noted Jebba bronzes. The island of Jebba in the Niger River still retains a traditional Nupe settlement.
The town was reached by the Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who was shipwrecked and drowned in the Bussa Rapids north of Jebba about 1806 and whose monument now stands on Jebba Island. From 1886 to 1900 Jebba was the northern limit of the territory governed by the Royal Niger Company. From 1898 to 1902 it served as headquarters for Sir Frederick Lugard’s West African Frontier Force and was thus the first capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1900 to 1902.
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was extended to Jebba in 1909 and was linked with the Kano-Baro line by the construction of a two-section railway bridge (with a total span of 1,795 feet [547 m]) over the Niger River in 1915. This new rail link fostered the development of Jebba as a trade and transport centre. Yams, corn (maize), cassava (manioc), sorghum, rice, shea nuts, and cattle are now the town’s main agricultural products. Sugarcane is grown on the Bacita sugar estate (10 miles downriver) and refined at the nearby sugar factory. Jebba’s local handicrafts include cotton weaving and pottery manufacture. There is also a pulp and paper factory located in the town. In 1984 a dam and hydroelectric power plant were completed at Jebba as part of the Niger Dams Project, which includes Kainja Dam and provides much of Nigeria’s hydroelectric power. A four-lane highway bridge was constructed in the late 1970s to carry the south–north trunk highway from Lagos. Jebba is part of the Moro local government area. Pop. (2006) local government area,108,792.