Ijebu (also known as Jebu or Geebu) is a Yoruba kingdom in Nigeria. It was formed around the fifteenth century. According to legend, its ruling dynasty was founded by Obanta whose personal name was Ogborogan of Ile-Ife. Its contemporary successor is one of the country's traditional states. History of Ijebu The kingdom was one of the most developed in the region with a complex and highly organized government. The capital is at Ijebu Ode where the Awujale has his palace. Counterbalancing the Awujale is the Osugbo (known as the Ogboni in other parts of Nigeria), a council of all free born, titled men that acted as the kingdom's courts. The Osugbo is divided into six groups based on rank, the highest being the iwarefa, whose head the Oliwa was the second most powerful figure in the nation. Also powerful is the Olisa, who could be described as the mayor of Ijebu Ode. The Kingdom was made up of several towns and stretches to parts of Lagos State and borders Ondo State. The state rose in power in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mainly due to its important position on the trade routes between Lagos and Ibadan. The kingdom imposed sharp limits on trade, insisting that all trade through the region be conducted by Ijebu merchants. The monopoly brought great wealth to the kingdom, but also annoyed the Europeans. In 1892, the British Empire declared war on the Ijebu kingdom in response to its barriers on trade. The British emerged victorious in the conflict and captured the Ijebu capital, burning the meeting hall of the Osugbo. As noted by colonial governor Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard, the British made efficient use of the Maxim gun during the conflict; when Lugard defended himself in response to criticism of the high casualties rates caused by Maxim guns employed by troops under his command during military campaigns in the Uganda Protectorate, he stated: "On the West Coast, in the 'Jebu' war, undertaken by Government, I have been told 'several thousands' were mowed down by the Maxim." After British colonization, the capital served as an administrative center for colonial officials as the kingdom was annexed to the colony of Southern Nigeria. Today, it constitutes one of the traditional states of Nigeria. The Ijebu kingdom is governed by a king and his group of titled elders, who usually are men of a higher status and of