In his youth, Jaja was kidnapped from Igboland, possibly by the Aro Confederacy,[3] and sold into slavery.

At the death of his master, he took charge of the trade and went on to head the Anna Pepple House merchant faction of Bonny.

Jaja barred entry to European and African middlemen, effectively monopolizing trade, and by 1870 was selling eight thousand tons of palm oil directly to the British.

[7][8] His presence in the West Indies was alleged to be the cause of civil unrest, as the people of Barbados, of African descent, were upset at the poor treatment of a King from their homeland.

The grave of his son, Prince Waribo, is in the churchyard at St Laurence's Church, Frodsham, Cheshire, United Kingdom.