Suleja is a city in
Niger State,
Nigeria, pop. (2006) local government area, 216,578, just north of
Abuja, capital of the
Suleja Emirate. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of
Abuja, due to its proximity, and the fact that it was originally called Abuja before the Nigerian government adopted the name from the then
Emir Sulayman Barau for its new federal capital in 1976.