Yenagoa

Yenagoa, town, capital of Bayelsa state, southern Nigeria, in the Niger River delta. Situated in an area of swamps and mangrove and tropical rain forests, it is a traditional home of the Ijo people, a fishing group who, following contact with European traders, became middlemen in the export of slaves through the ports of Brass and Nembe. When the slave trade was abolished, the Ijo economy turned to the export of palm oil and kernels. Yenagoa is still a market and administrative centre for a largely agricultural region, but the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas deposits nearby has brought some diversification. Pop. (2016 est.) urban agglom., 330,000.