Abuja Abuja Abuja () is the capital city of Nigeria located in the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It is a planned city and was built mainly in the 1980s, replacing the country's most populous city of Lagos as the capital on 12 December 1991. Abuja's geography is defined by Aso Rock, a monolith left by water erosion. The Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the city extend to the south of the rock. Zuma Rock, a monolith, lies just north of the city on the expressway to Kaduna. At the 2006 census,
Abuja at least 35%, retaining its position as the fastest-growing city on the African continent and one of the fastest-growing in the world. Abuja has witnessed a huge influx of people into the city; the growth has led to the emergence of satellite towns, such as Karu Urban Area, Suleja, Gwagwalada, Lugbe, Kuje and smaller settlements towards which the planned city is sprawling. The urban agglomeration centred upon Abuja had a population estimated at 2,440,000 in 2014. The metropolitan area of Abuja was estimated in 2016 as six million persons, the country's second most populous metro area. The city has a