The Wukari Federation is a traditional state in Nigeria, a successor to the Kwararafa state of the Jukun people. The state is based in the town of Wukari in Taraba State, in the south of the Benue River basin. The ruler takes the title "Aku Uka". Early history The Jukun were established in Wukari as early as the 17th century. The town was one of the southern centers on a trading route that connected via Bauchi to the northern states of Katsina, Kano and Bornu. Large caravans would bring goods transported from north of the Sahara, exchanging them for slaves, salt and ivory. It is debatable whether the Jukun were ever the military leaders of the broader Kwararafa state, as is sometimes claimed, or whether the Aku's role was more a symbolic or ritual leadership of the different peoples of the Benue river basin. Clearly the Aku Uka of Wukari had considerable influence. For example, in 1780 the leader of a group of migrants from Bornu felt it necessary to apply to the Aku Uka for endorsement and recognition of his rule over their new settlement at Lafia, to the northwest. The Aku Uka agreed and gave him the title of Sarkin Lafia Bare-Bari. The Aku Uka of Wukari became the regional power in the 1840s after the once-powerful Kwararafa state had been destroyed during the Fulani jihad (1804–1810) and its aftermath. The consolidation of Wukari as an independent state may have been given impetus by pressure from the Chamba people, who were pushing westward down the Benue at that time. When the British incorporated the state into the protectorate of Nigeria around 1900, it was multi-ethnic, including Tiv and Moslem Hausa-Fulani people as well as the original Jukun. The British delegated much authority to traditional rulers in the Northern Region. In 1958 the Aku Uka of Wukari was one of four such rulers serving as a minister without portfolio in the Executive Council of the region, the others being the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Katsina and Emir of Kano. Religion Traditional Jukun beliefs and rituals are complex, with unique elements. For example, they thought that in their migration from Yemen to Kwararafa around 596 AD they were assisted by giant crocodiles, who were therefore protected, and still have a shrine in the Marmara pond at Wukari. The Jukun religion includes belief in the divine right of kingship, with