The abolition of slavery in Nigeria was neither instantaneous nor uniform. It was a gradual process shaped by indigenous socio-political systems, global abolitionist movements, and British imperial intervention. Before European contact, various Nigerian societies practised forms of servitude that were distinct from the transatlantic slave trade. Slavery in precolonial Nigeria included domestic servitude, pawnship (a form of debt bondage), and the use of captives of war. These forms were often integrated into local economies and political hierarchies.
From the 15th century onward, the Atlantic slave trade expanded these systems dramatically. Coastal kingdoms such as Oyo, Benin, and Bonny became deeply entangled in the global trade in human lives, exchanging enslaved persons for European firearms, textiles, and other goods. The trade’s devastating impact on the interior regions of Nigeria included depopulation, economic instability, and long-term social fragmentation.
Key Events and People
British Abolition Efforts and the Decline of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Britain’s 1807 Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade marked a turning point in West Africa’s history. To enforce it, Britain created the West Africa Squadron of the Royal Navy, which patrolled the Atlantic coast to intercept slave ships. Thousands of Africans liberated from these vessels were resettled in Sierra Leone. Over time, some of these freed Africans, known as Saros or recaptives, migrated to Lagos, Badagry, and Abeokuta, where they spread Christianity, literacy, and anti-slavery ideas.
A prominent figure in this movement was Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba man captured as a slave in the early 19th century, later freed, and educated in Sierra Leone. Crowther became the first African Anglican bishop and a major advocate for Christian missions and education in southern Nigeria. His efforts contributed to transforming attitudes towards slavery and promoting social mobility among former slaves and their descendants.
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Lagos Annexation and Legal Abolition
Lagos was a major slave port throughout the early 19th century. In 1851, Britain intervened militarily to overthrow Oba Kosoko, who had resisted British efforts to curb the slave trade, and installed Oba Akitoye, who was more supportive of abolition. Ten years later, Lagos was formally annexed as a British colony in 1861. This annexation introduced British legal frameworks that prohibited the slave trade, marking the first formal abolition of slavery on Nigerian soil.
However, this legal abolition did not immediately translate to freedom for all enslaved persons. Many areas outside British control, particularly in the interior and northern regions, continued practising slavery under indigenous systems.
By the 1870s, British officials extended their anti-slavery treaties to other coastal states, including Bonny, Brass, and Calabar. Yet, while the external trade declined, internal slavery remained widespread, especially in the Sokoto Caliphate and among Yoruba kingdoms.
Economic and Social Changes
The Transition from Slave Trade to “Legitimate Commerce”
The British campaign against slavery coincided with an economic shift toward “legitimate commerce.” Rather than trading human beings, coastal Nigerian societies began to export agricultural products such as palm oil, groundnuts, and cotton in exchange for European goods. Palm oil, in particular, became a key export for industrial lubrication and soap production in Europe.
Former slave traders in the Niger Delta adapted to this new economic order, though coerced labour persisted under new forms such as palm cutting, pawnship, and indentured servitude. These practices blurred the line between freedom and bondage in the late 19th century.
The migration of freed slaves and returnees (Saros and Agudas, or Afro-Brazilian returnees) also contributed significantly to urban development in Lagos and Abeokuta. They introduced new crafts, architecture, commerce, and Western education, helping to reshape Nigerian society into a more urban and literate one.
The Persistence of Domestic Slavery
While southern Nigeria gradually moved away from slavery through economic changes and missionary influence, domestic slavery persisted in northern Nigeria well into the 20th century. Within the Sokoto Caliphate, slavery was integral to both the economy and governance. Agricultural production and domestic labour were heavily dependent on slaves.
When the British established the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in 1900, they faced a dilemma: abolishing slavery risked destabilising local economies and alienating traditional rulers. Consequently, British administrators adopted a gradualist approach, officially declaring slavery illegal but allowing existing masters and slaves to continue their relationships until the practice withered naturally.
Colonial Influence
Colonial Policy on Slavery
The Colonial Ordinance of 1901 prohibited the buying and selling of slaves across Nigeria, but enforcement varied. The British prioritised political stability and the cooperation of local rulers over immediate social transformation. It was not until 1926, following the League of Nations Slavery Convention, that the colonial administration began enforcing emancipation policies more aggressively in northern Nigeria.
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Role of Christian Missions
Missionary education and Christian teachings were key tools in dismantling the moral foundations of slavery in the south. Mission schools offered former slaves and their descendants access to new forms of social advancement. Literacy and Christian ethics replaced servitude as markers of status. However, in the north, the British policy of indirect rule restricted missionary activities, thereby slowing the pace of abolition and education.
By the 1930s, slavery had largely disappeared as an institution, though vestiges of dependency and social stigma lingered for decades.
Legacy Today
The abolition of slavery in Nigeria reshaped the nation’s social and economic structures. It replaced hereditary servitude with new class systems based on education, commerce, and religion. Yet, the social legacies of slavery persist. In some communities across Yorubaland, Igboland, and northern Nigeria, descendants of slaves still face social discrimination, particularly in marriage and leadership roles.
Historian Paul Lovejoy notes that the legacy of slavery is evident in patterns of inequality and class distinction that endure in contemporary Nigeria. Similarly, A.G. Hopkins argues that the transition from slavery to colonial capitalism merely substituted one form of dependency for another, with economic subjugation replacing bondage.
The abolition era also gave rise to the first wave of Nigerian reformers and intellectuals who linked freedom from slavery to broader human rights. This historical trajectory informs modern efforts to combat human trafficking, forced labour, and exploitation under Nigeria’s Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (2015).
Conclusion
The abolition of slavery in Nigeria was a protracted transformation that spanned over a century, reflecting complex interactions between indigenous systems, British imperial policy, and global humanitarianism. While legal abolition dismantled the formal structures of slavery, the deeper social and economic legacies required generations to overcome.
Understanding this history is vital for interpreting Nigeria’s struggles with inequality, labour rights, and social justice today. It highlights how freedom, in all its forms, is both a historical process and a continuing pursuit.
Author’s Note
This article provides a historically grounded account of the abolition of slavery in Nigeria, tracing its evolution from precolonial servitude to colonial emancipation and its lasting social implications. It draws on verified historical sources to show how abolition reshaped Nigerian society, economy, and identity, forming the foundation for contemporary movements against exploitation and inequality.
References
- Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Falola, Toyin, and Matt Childs. The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World. Indiana University Press, 2004.
- Hopkins, A.G. An Economic History of West Africa. Longman, 1973.
