The protectorate spanned 660,000 square kilometres (255,000 sq mi) and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate and parts of the former Bornu Empire, conquered in 1902.

The first High Commissioner of the protectorate was Frederick Lugard, who suppressed slavery and tribal raiding and created a system of administration built around native authorities.

In 1897, Frederick Lugard was the appointed head of the West African Frontier Force which was tasked with stopping Fulani resistance and possible French incursions in the northwest area.

[1][2] The Royal Niger Company was paid £865,000 and was given the rights to half of all mining revenue in a large part of the areas for 99 years in exchange for ceding the territory to the British government.

The combined force successfully suppressed the rebellion, which marked the last major instance of armed resistance to British rule in the region.

Charles Lindsay Temple became the acting Head Commissioner in 1911 and 1912 and began overseeing, with close collaboration with Lugard, the creation of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

The disparities between the protectorates was to be corrected by creating a central administration in Lagos, with custom revenues from the south paying for the projects in the north.