Benin City

Ibadan ( UK: , US: ; Yoruba: Ìbàdàn [ì.bà.dã̀]) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is one of the largest cities by population in Nigeria with a population of 4.3 million within its metropolitan area. At 3,080 square kilometres (1,190 mi2) it is the country's largest city by land area. At the time of Nigeria's independence in 1960, Ibadan was the largest and most populous city in the country, and the second-most populous in Africa behind Cairo. Ibadan is ranked one of the fastest-growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN Human Settlements Program (2022).

Kano is the capital of Kano State. It has a population of around 3.6 million (2016 estimate), giving it a busy atmosphere. It is an ancient trading city inhabited for well over a thousand years. Despite the international airport, there is little tourist trade, but there are still surprisingly many attractions to visit and, as with the rest of Nigeria, the joy is in the people and the buzz of the streets.

Lagos (; LAY-goss; Yoruba: Èkó [èkó]), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan port city in southwestern Nigeria. As of November 2025, the size of the city's population has been estimated to be between 17 and 21 million residents, making Lagos the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. The lands are separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, while being protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 kilometres (62 mi) east and west of the mouth. With its international airport, three ports (Apapa, Tin Can Island and Lekki deep-sea port), four expressways (to Badagry, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Calabar, the latter under construction since 2023 and partially operational in 2026), and the standard-gauge rail link to Abeokuta and Ibadan, the city is well connected in terms of transport and handles 88% of Nigeria’s exports. The urban rail transit system in Lagos is regarded as one of the most modern of its kind in Africa.

Onitsha (Igbo: Ọ̀nị̀chà Mmílí or simply Ọ̀nị̀chà) is a city on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. Onitsha along with various cities and towns in southern Anambra State, northern Imo State and neighboring Delta State on the western bank of the Niger River, form a continuous metropolitan area. As of 2016, the greater Onitsha area had an estimated population of around eight million people in central and southern Anambra state extending into neighboring Delta state to the west and Imo state to the south. Spread across parts of these three states, the greater Onitsha area is regarded as one of the largest metropolitan areas in Nigeria by both population and landmass. The continuous urban sprawl or conurbation of greater Onitsha spreads across several separate cities and their satellite towns and suburbs including Obosi, Ogidi, Oba, Ogbaru, Nnewi, the Anambra State capital Awka down to Orlu in Imo State.

Port Harcourt (Nigerian Pidgin: Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa, is a port city, capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fourth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano and Ibadan It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the oil rich Niger Delta region. As of 2025, Port Harcourt's urban population is approximately 3,800,000. The population of the metropolitan area of Port Harcourt is almost twice its urban area population with a 2015 United Nations estimate of 2,344,000. In 1950, the population of Port Harcourt was 59,752.