Sokoto (city) in the context of "Adamawa Emirate"

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.

Sokoto Listen(Hausa: Jihar Sakkwato; Fula: 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅, Leydi Sokoto) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamfara to the east, and Kebbi to the south and west, partly across the Ka River. Its capital and largest city is the city of Sokoto. Sokoto is located near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2022 it has an estimated population of more than 6.3 million.

Being the seat of the former Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims.

The sultan of Sokoto is the hereditary leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the 'Sokoto Caliph' or the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir-ul-Momineen in Arabic or Lamido Julbe in Fulani). The current holder of this title, since 2006, is Sa'adu Abubakar.The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule defeated the caliphate and replaced it with the Sokoto Sultanate Council in 1903, but the sultan – considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria – can still carry much weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.

Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin . The first to assume the title of Sultan was Fodio's son Muhammed Bello, who ruled from 1817 to 1837. Since the creation of the title, there have been nineteen Sultans of Sokoto, all men from the Torodbe scholar caste who are descended from Usman dan Fodio. Siddiq Abubakar III was the longest serving Sultan, holding the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. The shortest reign was that of Muhammadu Attahiru I, who held the position for five months in 1902–03. The 17th sultan, Ibrahim Dasuki, was forcefully deposed in 1996 by the Sani Abacha military government of Nigeria.