ABEOKUTA, a town of British West Africa, the capital of the Egba division of the Yoruba people and of the province of Abeokuta, southern Nigeria. It is situated in 7° 8' N., 3° 25' E., on the Ogun river, 64m. north of Lagos by railway, or 81m. by water. Population (1931 census) Abeokuta is surrounded by mud walls 18m. in extent and lies in a beautiful and fertile country, the surface of which is broken by masses of grey granite. Besides the usual mud built houses there are several buildings (including public offices) of modern design. Palm-oil, timber, yams and shea-butter are the chief articles of trade.
Abeokuta (a word meaning "under the rocks"), dating from 1825, owes its origin to incessant inroads of slave-hunters from Dahomey and Ibadan, which compelled the village populations to take refuge in this rocky stronghold, which became the capital of the Egba State, the ruling chief being styled Alake (Ake is the principal quarter of Abeokuta and is the name of the ancient Egba capital). The Egba carried on a long war with Ibadan, and claimed the right to close the trade routes to Lagos. This brought them from 1865 onward into collision with the British, but in 1893 a treaty was signed which, while preserving Egba independ ence in internal affairs, brought the State under direct British influence. Christian missions had been in Abeokuta since 1843 and gained many converts; in 1867 the Christians were expelled. They returned some years later and now form an influential part of the population. The town is the headquarters of the Yoruba branch of the Church Missionary Society.
After 1899 when the railway from Lagos reached Abeokuta there was a large increase in trade. Meanwhile the Egbas had set up a government based on European models, and in 1904 the Alake created some interest in his country by a visit to England. But side by side with an administration on modern lines (including fiscal barriers) "there existed," to quote Sir F. D. Lugard, "the ancient regime with all its abuses—extortionate demands from the peasantry, corruption and bribery in the courts, arbitrary im prisonment and forced labour." These conditions could not be tol erated and in 1914 by a new agreement the Egbas renounced "in dependence," and their country, with Jebu and other districts, was constituted the province of Abeokuta. Since then the Alake and his council have carried on the native administration under the supervision of a British resident. In 1917 a somewhat serious rising occurred in the province; it was the only instance of the peace being disturbed in Nigeria during the World War.
See Sir F. D. Lugard's Report on Nigeria (pub. in 1920) as a White Paper (cmd. 468) ; an article on Abeokuta by Sir Wm. Macgregor, African Society's Journal No. xii. (July, 1904) ; and Sir W. N. Geary, Nigeria under British Rule (1927).