No reports on traditional rule among the Isoko could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The Isoko, sometimes referred to as Sobo, Igabo, or Biotu (Ethnologue 1996, 349). According to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Sobo" is a term used by ethnographers as a blanket term for both the Isoko and the Urhobo although the two groups are different (1989, 417), but Ethnologue also states that "Sobo" and "Igabo" are offensive terms.

The Isoko inhabit the north western part the Niger Delta region and speak the language of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica 1989, 417). According to this source,

both men and women are grouped into age-grades,each with particular responsibilities...Membership in certain title organizations is available on payment of fees and is an important source of political authority. The Isoko never formed a single social or political unit; local communities remain autonomous. Traditional religion includes belief in a creator god and his messengers, in spirits, and in ancestral spirits. Diviners are consulted to explain failures in any activity, on occasions illness or death, and before economic activity. Witches are believed to be organized into groups that meet regularly in large trees. Many Isoko, however, are now Christians (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Goertz. Chicago: Encylopedia Britannica.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Thirteenth Edition. Edited by Barbra F. Grimes. Dallas, Texas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc.

Africa News Bulletin 1998-1999.

Amnesty International Report 1999 1999.

Country Reports for 1998 1999.

Nigeria: A Country Study. 1992. Edited by Helen Chapin Metz. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact oral sources.

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