<P> In 1896--1897 the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate fought with the remnants of the Benin Empire . Following the defeat of an unsuccessful foray by Consul General James R. Phillips, a larger retaliatory force captured Benin City and drove Ovonramwen, the Oba of Benin, into exile . </P> <P> The British had difficulty conquering Igboland, which lacked central political organization . In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo - Aro War of 1901--1902 . Despite conquering villages by burning houses and crops, continual political control over the Igbo remained elusive . The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy . </P> <P> A campaign against the Sokoto Caliphate began in 1900 with the creation of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, under the direction of Governor Lugard . The British captured Kano in 1903 . Deadly battles broke out sporadically through 1906 . Lugard was slow to describe these excursions to the Colonial Office, which apparently learned of preparations to attack Kano from the newspapers in December 1902 . Not wishing to appear out of control or weak, they approved the expedition (two days after it began) on January 19, 1903 . In general the Colonial Office allowed Lugard's expeditions to continue because they were framed as retaliatory and, as Olivier commented in 1906, "If the millions of people (in Nigeria) who do not want us there once get the notion that our people can be killed with impunity they will not be slow to attempt it ." </P> <P> Lugard informed the leaders of conquered Sokoto: </P>

History of nigeria legal system before colonial rule