In 1989 an estimated 800,000 spoke Igala, primarily in Kogi State, though current estimates place the number of Igala speakers at upwards of 1.6 million.
Dialects include Ibaji, Idah, Dekina, Ogugu, Ankpa, Ebu, and the Olumbanasaa group (Anambra West); it is believed that these languages share some similarities with the Yoruba and Itsekiri languages.
Their language belongs to the Benue–Congo branch of the Niger–Congo family.
Their ruler, the Àtá, traditionally also governed two other groups, the Bassa Nge and the Bass Nkome, who live between the Igala and the Benue River.
The Igala alphabet has a total of thirty-one (31) letters.