Pre-1500 — Ancient settlement#
Jukun of Kwararafa, Mumuye, Chamba, Mambila, Wurkun, Tiv, Kuteb and Tigon settle the upper Benue and Mambilla Plateau.
1500 — 1804 — Pre-colonial polities#
The Jukun Kwararafa Empire (capital Pindiga, later Wukari) reaches its zenith in the 17th century, raiding Kano (1671) and Katsina (1680). The Aku Uka of Wukari is the surviving Jukun divine-king.
1804 — 1903 — The long 19th century#
Sokoto jihadists under Modibbo Adama and Hammaruwa (Muri Emirate, 1817) push into the Benue. The Royal Niger Company under Captain Macdonald signs a treaty at Muri in 1885.
1900 — 1960 — Colonial provinces#
Muri Province (1900); Adamawa Province; merged into Northern Region.
1960 — present — State creation chain#
- 1967 — North-Eastern State.
- 3 Feb 1976 — Gongola State (capital Yola).
- 27 Aug 1991 — Taraba State (capital Jalingo) hived off from Gongola.
- Recurrent Tiv–Jukun crises (1991, 2001, 2019–24).