The Igala — a Yoruboid-speaking people of present-day Kogi State — trace their kingship to a complex tradition that draws on Yoruba (Ife), Jukun (Kororofa) and indigenous Igala elements. The reigning dynasty descends from Ayegba Om'Idoko (c.16th century), who according to tradition sacrificed his own daughter Inikpi to secure Idah's victory against the Jukun. The dynastic line of the Attah continues to the present in unbroken succession at the Aju-Mata palace at Idah; the reigning Attah HRM Mathew Alaji Opaluwa Oguche Akpa (Attah Igala) was installed in 2013.
Igala's defining moment was the Idah War (Benin–Igala War) of c.1515–1516, in which Oba Esigie of Benin invaded Igala territory across the Niger. The campaign produced the famous bronze ivory mask of Queen Idia — the Iyoba (Queen Mother) — cast in honour of Esigie's mother, who is said to have led the Benin defence. The war ended in a stalemate that effectively set the Niger as the boundary between the two kingdoms.
The Attah controlled the Niger–Benue confluence and the river trade in slaves, ivory and salt from the lower Niger to Lokoja. When the Royal Niger Company established its headquarters at Asaba in 1886 and at Lokoja, it negotiated treaties with the Attah for navigation and trading rights. The Anglo-Igala expedition of 1900 incorporated the kingdom into the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria; the Attah retained ceremonial authority as a first-class chief under indirect rule.
Igala's contribution to modern Nigeria includes Dr. Stephen Awoniyi (the first Nigerian Permanent Secretary to the Federal Ministry of Finance), the late Senator Iyorchia Ayu (Senate President 1992–93, though Tiv by ancestry and Igala-influenced by upbringing), and Achimugu Audu (former Governor of Kogi). The Igala-Ata festival at Idah remains one of the largest annual gatherings on the Niger.