Background of the Battle of Imagbon
In 1891, the Ijebu people, dwelling between 50 and 60 miles north-east of Lagos on the Magbon river, set a blockade and charged customs dues on the trade route to Lagos which as at then was a crown colony. The Awujale (traditional ruler of Ijebu) closed down Ejirin market, cutting off Lagos from a source of up-country trade.
The British government persuaded the Awujale several times to open the blockaded route but the Ijebu ruler remained adamant. However, in May, 1891, a British acting governor, Captain C.M Denton C.M.G, together with some Hausa troops (mostly slaves who fled the North to South and were recruited by the British army) went to Ijebu kingdom to convince the Awujale to open the blockaded route and allow the free passage of goods into Lagos.
The Awujale refused at first but after much persuasion and pressure, he agreed in January 1892 on the grounds that he will receive £500 annually as compensation for the loss of customs revenue. Ijebu people were unhappy with this outcome as they did not wish to change their traditional methods and practices, particularly when threatened by foreigners.
Breech of Agreement
However, this agreement did not last long. A white missionary was denied access to pass through the Ijebu kingdom and was sent back. The British government were provoked by the action of the Ijebus and authorized the use of force on their kingdom. Britain gathered troops from Gold Coast (Ghana), Sierra Leone, Ibadan, and Lagos (the Hausa troops nearly 150).
Colonel F.C. Scott C.B was the commander of the troops of 450 men gathered by Britain. On the 12th of May, 1892, the captain and his men, including some carriers, sailed up the Lagos Lagoon and landed at Ekpe. When they got to Leckie, another set of carriers (about 186 in numbers) were recruited.
On the Ijebu side, 8000 men with old rifles would be fighting the British. The British underestimated the fighting prowess of the Ijebus and this gave them a hard time penetrating into the interiors of the Ijebu kingdom.
Course of the Battle of Imagbon (British-Ijebu War)
On the first day, the British army razed down four villages with some of their men sustaining fatal injuries. The next day, they proceeded to Atumba and gunned down the Ijebus with machine guns. Britain lost 12 men, a Briton and 12 Africans. Every Ijebu villages they came across was burnt to the ground. The Ijebus were losing the battle but were determined to prevent the British army from crossing the Yemoyi river.
The goddess of the Yemoyi river was said to have taken human sacrifice in order to prevent the intruders (British) from crossing. The river was dug deeper to make it impenetrable by all means for the British army. However, the British army managed to cross the sacred Yemoyi river and unleashed havoc on the Ijebus. They proceeded to the village of Imagbon.
The Ijebus had lost over 900 men while Britain lost only 56 men and have about 30 wounded. The Ijebus were still determined to fight on but shortly afterwards, the Awujale surrendered and conceded defeat. The British union flag was later raised above Ijebu Ode.
Captain Scot warned his men against pillaging which some didn’t heed to especially the Ibadan irregulars who were later deprived of their arms. The toll gates in Oru built by the Ijebus were destroyed and some of their shrines were also torched.
This war is known in history as the Battle of Imagbon, British-Ijebu war and 1892 Ijebu Expedition.
The British troops were awarded The East & West Africa Medal with Clasp dated ‘1892’. Today, one of these medals can be found in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Ijebu kingdom was later annexed to the colony of southern Nigeria.
- Gbola Gboyega, (2019). Operation Danasungbo: An Account of British/Ijebu War of 1892.
- Roddy Owen – A Memoir by Bovill and Askwith
- Colonel Scott’s Report London Gazette No 26303 dated 1st July 1892
Thank you of this information
You’re welcome Mr Sunday Ajishomo. Thanks for your visit.
Am proud to be from Ijebu…… i really appreciate this history i just read…have been dying to known these facts…
Thanks for your visit and comment, Mr. Segun. Visit OldNaija regularly to get the best of Nigerian histories