The Ancient Kingdom Of Warri (Ale Iwere)

The Itsekiri people call this Kingdom Ale Iwere (The Land Of Iwere) and the people are addressed as Oma Iwere (Children of Iwere). The Portuguese that visited in 1516 called it Roy Aweri (Kingdom Of Aweri), a derivation of the pronunciation of the word Iwere.

Itsekiri modern history dates from the late fifteenth century when the Itsekiri people adopted a prince from Benin Kingdom as their monarch. According to Bini and Itsekiri histories, Iginuwa or Ginuwa, a crown prince of Benin kingdom left Benin with the sons of 70 chiefs and founded the Iwerre (Warri) kingdom about 1480. There were five aboriginal communities when Prince Ginuwa arrived in the Kingdom.

With the arrival of the prince and adoption of the monarchy, the various independent Itsekiri communities coalesced to become one Kingdom under one king, Ogiame Iginuwa. Thus the Itsekiri Nation and Warri Kingdom was born.