The Royal Niger Company was formed in 1886 after British merchant George T. Goldie organised the already active United Africa Company and in effect took personal control of the Lower Niger River. Goldie and his agents had penetrated into the territory of the Benue and Niger Rivers after it had been allocated to Britain at the Berlin Conference, 1884-1885. This caused conflict with French and German agents - the border with German Kamerun was not fixed until 1893 and a dispute with France over Muri on the middle Benue lasted until 1898.

The headquarters of the Royal Niger Company was situated at Asaba on the Niger River. From there it established a network of stations, mainly along the Niger and Benue and their tributaries, as well as a rudimentary justice system and constabulary. In establishing its stations, the Company encroached upon the established African interior trade and caused the outbreak of hostilities in locations such as Onitsha, 1879, Akassa, 1882 and 1895, and the Niger Delta, 1886. These were dealt with by punitive expeditions involving Royal Navy gunboats.

The Company encouraged the cultivation of plantation products for export such as palm oil. Another policy was to exclude foreign competition in native trade through high import tariffs and the confiscation of goods imported in circumvention of these tariffs. Major imported products included cloths and alcoholic beverages.

The Company surrendered its charter in 1899.