Kebbi State is a state in northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The State was formed from southwestern half of Sokoto State on 27 August 1991 by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida. Kebbi State is named for the city of Birnin Kebbi—the state’s capital and largest city. The state is known as land of equity. It is the tenth largest state in area and 18th most populous with about 4.4 million estimated population as of 2016. With 21 Local Government Areas.

In the pre-colonial period, the region now known as Kebbi State was under the control of the Kebbi Kingdom carved out of the old Songhai Empire by the legendary warrior Muhammadu Kotal Kanta, a Hausa bakwai until the early 1800s. The Fulani jihad captured and tried to integrate part of the region into the Gwandu Emirate under the Sokoto Caliphate. The area became the south-western part of the caliphate under the famous scholar and warrior, Sheik Abdullhi Danfodio, the brother of leader of the caliphate, Sheik Usmanu Danfodio. In 1893, following the British Colonial conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate, the region became part of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate, which later merged into British Nigeria before Nigeria become independent in October 1960 . The State was part of the northern Region and the region was split into Northern-west State in 1967.

The landscape of Kebbi State is dominated by extensive flood plains (Fadama) of the inland river valley systems. The Niger River flows southwest across part of the state and the Rima River flows southerly through the center of the state to join the Niger. Both rivers have broad flood plains. The largest sources of surface water, however, is in Yauri and Ngaski Local Government Areas where the River Niger forms large body of water several square kilometers in size known as Kainji Lake; which is 80% located in Kebbi State.