Birnin Kebbi is a city located in Northwestern Nigeria It is the capital city of Kebbi State and headquarter of the Gwandu Emirate. As at 2007 the city had an estimated population of 125,594 people. Kebbi is mostly a Hausa and Fulani state, with Islam as the major religion. Formerly it was the capital of the Kebbi Emirate, which relocated to Argungu after the conquest by Gwandu in 1831. The town remained the capital of Kebbi until 1805, when it was burned in the Fulani jihad by Abdullahi dan Fodio, a brother of the jihad leader and later Emir of Gwandu. After Birnin Kebbi was incorporated into the Fulani Emirate of Gwandu, it was eclipsed in political importance by Gwandu (Gando) town, 30 miles (48 km) east, and as a caravan and riverside market centre by Jega, 20 miles (32 km) southeast, which lay at the head of navigation on the Zamfara River, a tributary of the Sokoto. Ironically, while Argungu became the traditional seat of the king of Kebbi in 1827, Birnin Kebbi served as the Gwandu emirate headquarters after Emir Haliru was inaugurated there in 1906. Birnin Kebbi became the capital of the newly created Nigerian state of Kebbi in 1991.

Kebbi State is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Kebbi State is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while its western border forms part of the national borders with Benin Republic for 103 km and Niger for 207 km. Named for the city of Birnin Kebbi—the state's capital and largest city, Kebbi state was formed from Sokoto state on 27 August 1991. Of the 36 states of Nigeria, Kebbi is the tenth largest in area and 18th most populous, with an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2016. The state is known as land of equity.