Karu is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, central Nigeria. It is close in proximity to the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It has an area of 2,640 km2. Karu local government has its headquarters in New Karu town. It was originally built to house the capital's civil servants and lower income families, but had no running water or good sanitation system. Karu has grown in population beyond its original planned capacity.