London Museum Returns Looted Benin Artefacts to Nigeria

The formal process of returning stolen artifacts from Benin to Nigeria has started at a small museum in southeast London.

The Horniman Museum, which holds a collection of seventy-two priceless artifacts that were forcibly removed from Benin City in 1897, officially gave the Nigerian government ownership of the artifacts on Monday.

The Horniman said that, in response to a request from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, returning the looted items was a “moral and appropriate” response.

Thousands of objects that were housed at significant organizations around the world, such as the British Museum, remain unclear as to when they will be returned.

But among the first six items to be returned were two Benin Bronze plaques from the royal palace, which were given to Nigerian authorities during a ceremony that marked the ownership transfer of 72 stolen objects.

British troops removed the items from Benin City in February 1897.

Before the official handover, journalists questioned prof. Abba Tijani, the director general of the NCMM, and Nick Merriman, the chief executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens, about their frustration with the British Museum’s seeming unwillingness to relinquish the 900 objects that it had owned for over a century.

“Journalists who ask me about the Benin return always want to ask me about the British Museum,” Merriman said, adding that the Horniman had been a “excellent example” of leadership.

“I would prefer to talk about the Horniman as a great example than to respond to inquiries concerning the British Museum.”

The first wave of physical repatriations of Benin objects from the Horniman consists of the six objects that were chosen in consultation with the NCMM to be representative of the collection of seventy-two items.

A new agreement between the NCMM and the Horniman will allow the remainder to stay in Britain on loan for now, with a second phase of physical repatriations to follow in due course.

Professor Tijani later explained that about 5,000 Benin bronzes were currently “scattered” around the world.

He said that he is hoping that talks with various institutions may result in deals that could herald the items being returned from places including Germany and the U.S.

NAN