Itsekiri people

Itsekiri
Ira Iwere

Total population
c. 1,035,000[1][2]
Languages
Itsekiri English
Religion
Christianity 88% Traditional religion 12%
Related ethnic groups
Yoruba people, Edo people, Igala people

The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, iJekri, Itsekri, Ishekiri, or Itsekhiri) are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo, Edo and Delta State.^[3] The Itsekiri population exceeds 1 million people,^[2] who live mainly in parts of Ondo, Edo and majorly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria.^[4]

Large Itsekiri indigenous communities and population can also be found in 7 other local government areas of delta state Okpe Local Government, Uvwie Local Government, Udu Local Government, Sapele Local Government, Ethiope West Local Government, Ethiope East Local Government, Burutu Local Government Areas in Delta Central senatorial district, and Delta South senatorial district of Delta State Nigeria.^[5][6][7]

Other significant communities of Itsekiris can be found in parts of Edo and Ondo states and in various other Nigerian cities including Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Many people of Itsekiri descent also reside in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Itsekiris are closely related to the Yoruba of South Western Nigeria and also close to the Urhobo people and Edo peoples.^[8] The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically contiguous to the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's crude oil and natural gas production and petroleum refining and the main town Warri (a multi-ethnic metropolis) forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region.^[9]