Bagudo

Bagudo is a town in Kebbi State on the Niger River, headquarters of Bagudo Local Government Area, which borders both the Republic of Niger and the Republic of Benin and had a population of over 865,000 at the 2006 census. The LGA includes several other towns and villages, among them Balundi, Geza, Gyalange, Kudi, Maraka, Tuga, Sharabi, and Rafin Gari.

Local tradition holds that Bagudo was founded by a Fulani cattle-herder named Wabudo. Its population is mainly Fulani, Hausa, and Zabarmawa, with a small Yoruba presence, and Hausa and Fulfulde are the main languages spoken. Islam reached the area by at least the 16th century via trans-Saharan trade routes, and Bagudo grew into a commercial center of the region as a result.