The intense human interaction which takes place within the urban centre has made it more often than not the centre of historical study, whether consciously or unconsciously. Surprisingly, the impact of colonialism on the urban process in Nigeria is a theme which has hardly received the attention it deserves. Recent works are now coming to light in thesis and published form, expressing concerted efforts to delve into this hardly explored theme. This work is thus a contribution to our understanding of the impact of colonialism on the urban process in Nigeria with special reference to Warri. In our attempt to do this we have located Warri within the Nigerian colonial economy which in turn is located within the global capitalist economy. By so doing, we have come to realise that Warri's urban development and function within the colonial system was determined by its integration into the world capitalist economy and British colonialism. Because of its strategic location, Warn as early as 1891 developed as an important colonial administrative centre and commercial trading post. We showed how Warri on account of its dual significance was used to exploit and dominate, for British interests, certain parts of the Nigerian area.Our work also shows that Ward's importance as an administrative and commercial centre attracted a large population to the area. Therefore we focused on the nature of Warri's urban administration within the context of colonialism. We analysed residential development and road construction as well as the provision of urban utilities, health, educational and recreational facilities to meet the needs of Warri's growing population. We concluded that Warri's dual purpose as an instrument of political domination and exploitation through unequal exchange manifests the essence of British colonialism in Nigeria. In the light of this observation, Warri aptly fits the description of a colonial urban centre as it was the product of colonialism, manifesting colonialism's basic features and functioned within the colonial system to sustain and maintain it.