Northern Region, Nigeria in the context of "Kano State"

The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was an armed conflict fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. During the war years, Field Marshal Gowon served as the head of state of Nigeria, while Biafra was led by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. The conflict emerged from political, ethnic, cultural, and religious tensions that preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region. As a consequence of these pogroms, alongside the mass exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region, the leadership of the Eastern Region concluded that the Nigerian federal government was either unwilling or unable to guarantee them an adequate protection, therefore, the only remaining solution seemed to be to secure their compatriots' security by establishing a sovereign and independent country of Biafra.

Within a year, Nigerian government troops surrounded Biafra, while capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt. In the aftermath of the Nigerian military's encirclement of the major part of Biafra, a blockade was imposed as a deliberate policy during the ensuing stalemate, which led to the mass starvation of Biafran civilians. During the 2+1⁄2 years of the war, there were approximately 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died of starvation.

Arewa or Arewaland is a Hausa word which means "The North". The term is used to refer to Northern Nigeria general. The terms Arewa (literally "north") and Arewacin Nijeriya (literally "Northern Nigeria") are used in Hausa to refer to the historic region geopolitically located north of the River Niger.

In the history of Nigeria specifically, it is used to refer to the pre-1967 Northern Region, Nigeria. In Niger, it has a very specific meaning: a small pre-colonial animist dominated state of the Dallol Maouri valley, known for the indigenous "Maouri"/"Mawri" Hausa culture. In Nigeria, some towns have been called simply "Arewa" in the past, before British colonisation.

North-Eastern State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region. Its capital was the city of Maiduguri.

On 3 February 1976, two states were carved out of North-Eastern state, namely Bauchi state and Gongola state, and the remaining portion of the North-Eastern state was renamed to Borno state. The North-Eastern state was divided into Bauchi, Borno and Gongola states. Gombe State was later split out of Bauchi, Yobe State from Borno and Gongola was split into Taraba State and Adamawa State.

North-Western State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states – Niger and Sokoto. The city of Sokoto was the capital of North-Western State.

Benue-Plateau State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Benue and Plateau. Its capital city was Jos, the current capital of standalone Plateau State.

KadunaListen is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern states of Nigeria, with its rail and important road network.

The population of Kaduna was put at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census. Rapid urbanization since 2005 has created an increasingly large population, and as of 2024, the city has an estimated population of 1.2 million people.

The 1966 anti-Igbo pogroms were a series of widespread massacres and pogroms committed against Igbo people–and other people of southern Nigerian origin–living in northern Nigeria, starting in May 1966 and reaching its peak after 29 September 1966. Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. In response to the killings, some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other cities in eastern Nigeria. These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigerian Civil War.

Jigawa Listen (Hausa: Jihar Jigawa; Fula: Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was formerly part of Kano State and was located in its northeastern-most region. It forms part of Nigeria's national border with the Republic of Niger. The state capital and largest city is Dutse. Jigawa state has 27 local governments.

The eighth largest state by population, residents of Jigawa State are predominantly of Hausa or Fulani background. The vast majority of the residents of Jigawa State are Muslim, and it is one of the twelve states in the country to be governed by Sharia law. Jigawa State is famous for the Dutsen Habude cave paintings in the town of Birnin Kudu, which have been dated back to the Neolithic period. The town of Hadejia (formerly Biram) is notable as being one of the traditional "seven true Hausa states".