Townapedia
Gumel Mosque
Gumel Mosque · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gumel
Gumel · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gumel 1
Gumel 1 · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gumel page banner
Gumel page banner · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gumel 5
Gumel 5 · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gumel Town
Gumel Town · Gwanki, CC BY-SA 4.0

Gumel, Nigeria

Gumel is a town of 42,742 people in Jigawa State, Nigeria, founded in 1700.

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Population42,742 GeoNames
Elevation369 m 1,211 ft
Founded1700
Time zoneAfrica/Lagos
Nearest airportMallam Aminu Kano International Airport (KAN) 114 km

Why visit Gumel

Townapedia lists 1 attraction in and around town.

Highlights include Jigawa State College of Education.

About Gumel

Gumel or Gumal () is a city and traditional emirate in Jigawa State, Nigeria.

From the Wikipedia article Gumel (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Travel tips from other travellers: Gumel on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Things to do1

Jigawa State College of Education

School · 1.2 km

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

History

The emirate was founded about 1750 by Dan Juma and his followers from the Mangawa tribe. Shortly after he died in 1754, it became a tributary state of the Bornu kingdom. The emirate survived the Fulani attacks of Usman dan Fodio's jihad in the early 19th century and never became part of the Fulani empire of Sokoto. The present-day location of Gumel is the result of an 1845 move from the city of Tumbi, located in what is now Niger. The emirate has frequently been at war with the nearby cities of Hadejia, Danzomo, Kano, and Zinder since 1828. The war with Hadejia continued until Gumel's emir, Abdullahi, died in 1872. Before Emir Ahmadu accepted British rule in 1903, frequent slave raids from the town of Zinder were common. In 1976 Gumel became part of Kano State, and since 1991 it has been part of Jigawa State near Danzomo, Gagarawa, Sule Tankarkar, and Maigatari.

The emir of Gumel until 2026, HRH Alh. Ahmed Mohammed Sani II (CON), was the 16th emir of Gumel. He was a graduate, in political science, of Ohio State University in the United States and had been in office since 1981. He was succeeded by his son Dr. Lawan Ahmed Muhammad Sani, who became the new emir of Gumel. The emir's palace is accessible only to those invited there by the emir, to members of the royal family, and to officials of the royal court (the emirate council, also called the Majlis).

From the History section of Gumel on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Map of Gumel

1 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.

Getting there and nearby towns

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (KAN) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 114 km away.

  • Gagarawa 29 km southeast, about 29 min by car
  • Babura 44 km west, about 44 min by car
  • Ringim 58 km southwest, about 58 min by car
  • Mallammaduri 62 km east, about 1 h by car
  • Kafin Hausa 71 km southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
  • Hadejia 73 km east, about 1 h 15 min by car

Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.

Reviews, tips and questions

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Sources and licences

Photo credits

Page built November 3, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.