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.