Ilaje

Ilajelisten^ⓘ is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarter is in the town of Igbokoda on the Olùwá river. It is inhabited by the Ilajes, who are a distinct migratory coastal group of ethnic Yoruba people indigenously spread along the coastal belts of; Ondo, Ogun, Lagos and Delta states. Large Ilaje communities can also be found in other littoral Nigerian states, including; Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and further afield along the Gulf of Guinea coastline, eastwards through Cameroon and as far south as Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, from Corisco bay to Libreville, where they make up the majority of the West African fishing community.

The Ilajes were originally made up of four geo-political entities, namely: Ode Ugbo, Ode Mahin, Ode Etikan and Aheri. While most towns and villages in the Mahin kingdom (Ode Mahin) are located on arable land, those in the other three polities of Ugbo, Aheri and Etikan kingdoms are spread out along the sandy beaches and swampy terrain of the Bight of Benin coast of the Atlantic Ocean.