KOKO

town and port, Delta state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the Benin River, in the western Niger River delta. A collecting point for palm oil and kernels as well as timber, it can be reached by vessels of 14-foot (4-metre) draft that navigate the 50-mile (80-kilometre) distance upstream to the port via the Escravos River entrance (opened 1940, on the Bight of Benin) and the Youngtown Crossing. Although its port was eclipsed by Sapele, 20 miles (32 km) upstream, the town still serves as an agricultural trade centre for the Itsekiri people. It was reopened as a port of entry in 1958, and in the late 1970s the government rehabilitated its berths and promoted a fishing and shrimping operation in the town. Pop. (1972 est.) 19,994.