- Tenure
- 1889 — 1898 (exile and death)
- Era
- Traditional Rulers — the pre-colonial polities (pre-1879)
- Mode of entry
- Crowned Amanyanabo of Nembe in 1889
- Mode of exit
- After the 29 January 1895 Akassa raid on RNC headquarters, Rear-Admiral Bedford burned Nembe and Brass; Koko fled into the creeks and died in exile at Etiema in 1898
The Ijaw king whose 1895 raid on Akassa broke the Royal Niger Company's commercial sovereignty. Overlaid by: the Royal Niger Company (Goldie) — but the raid triggered the 1896 Kirk parliamentary inquiry that led to the revocation of the RNC charter on 31 December 1899. Monetary context: the Akassa Raid was a direct revolt against the RNC's sterling-tariff monopoly, which had cut Nembe's cowrie- and manilla-based houses off from their upriver palm-oil hinterland. See [How the currency fell before the flag](/stories/how-the-currency-fell-before-the-flag).
King Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII (c. 1853–1898) renounced his Christian baptism in 1894 in protest at the RNC's monopoly destroying Nembe trade. On 29 January 1895 he led 1,500 men in 30 war canoes against Akassa, killing about 40 RNC employees and seizing the trade depot. The Royal Navy retaliation (February 1895) was disproportionate; Koko was offered £200 for his head, fled into the creeks, and died at Etiema in 1898. The Kirk Inquiry of 1896 vindicated the Brassmen's grievances and was decisive in the loss of the RNC's charter.
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.