Nasarawa State

Nasarawa is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Benue and Kogi, and to the west by the Federal Capital Territory. Named for the historic Nassarawa Emirate, the state was formed from the west of Plateau State on 1 October 1996. The state has thirteen local government areas namely, Nasarawa, Toto, Keffi, Karu, Kokona, Akwanga, Wamba, Nasarawa Eggon, Lafia, Obi, Awe, Doma and Keana with its capital in Lafia, located in the east of the state, while a key economic centre of the state is the Karu Urban Area—suburbs of Abuja—along the western border with the FCT. Of the 36 states of Nigeria, Nasarawa is the fifteenth largest in area and second least populous with an estimated population of about 2.5 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is mostly within the tropical Guinean forest–savanna mosaic ecoregion. Important geographic features include the River Benue forming much of Nasarawa State's southern borders and the state's far northeast containing a small part of the Jos Plateau. Nasarawa State is inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the Koro and Yeskwa in the far northwest; the Kofyar in the far northeast; the Eggon, Gwandara, Mada, Buh, Ninzo, and Nungu in the north; the Alago, Goemai, and Megili in the east; Eloyi (Ajiri/Afo) in the south; the Tiv in the southeast; the Idoma in southwest; and the Bassa people, Gade and Gbagyi in the west while the Hausa and Fulani live throughout the state. Nasarawa is also religiously diverse with large followers of both Islam and Christianity while followers of Traditional or Native Religions have declined over the years due to conversions to the two Abrahamic religions. In the...