London Museum to return 72 stolen artefacts to Nigeria

Admin l Tuesday, August 9, 2022

 

LONDON – A London Museum, Horniman Museum has agreed to return 72  stolen artefacts to Nigeria. The artefacts were stollen from Nigeria in the 18^th century during the colonial era.

The Horniman Museum agreed to return the artefacts following requests by the Nigerian governments. Among the artefacts are the Benin Bronze head. The objects according to the Museum were forcibly removed from Benin City during the British military incursion in February 1897.

“They will be transferred to the Nigerian government, following a decision by the Horniman’s Board of Trustees”, the Horniman Museum said. Over 500 artefacts and other works of arts were stolen from Africa during the colonial era.

Nigeria had in  Nov. 28th 2019 lunched a campaign for repatriation of stolen works of arts from around the world.

Speaking at the event, the Minister for Information and Culture,  Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Nigeria has sent  notice to all those who are holding on to Nigeria’s cultural property anywhere in the world that  Nigeria will use all legal and diplomatic instruments available to get those ancient works of arts.

“ Less than two years after that announcement, I can report back to Nigerians that our efforts at repatriating Nigeria’s looted artefacts are achieving positive results. The work ahead remains tough and daunting, but we will not relent until we have repatriated all our stolen and smuggled antiquities.

“These artefacts are so cherished all over the world and we realize that if they are returned to Nigeria and properly exhibited within and outside the country under our control, they stand to increase the influx of tourists to our nation and earn us good money.

“Of course, these timeless and priceless pieces of work are an important part of our past, our history, our heritage resource, and allowing them to sit in the museums of other nations robs us of our history”, he said.

According to him, everyone in possession of these artefacts is willing to return them,  but that Nigeria remains undeterred “as we have deployed all legal and diplomatic means and we have been recording successes in our quest for repatriation.

“Here are some of the successes we have recorded since that press conference in 2019:

–   In October 2020, The Netherlands returned a highly-valued 600-year-old Ife Terracotta.

–   In March 2021, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland agreed to return a Benin Bronze from its collections. We shall take possession of this in October this year.

–   In April 2021, we received a bronze piece from Mexico.

–   The University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom has also agreed to return a disputed Benin artefact. We will soon commence the procedure for the repatriation of this highly-valued piece.

–   We have also secured a date in October 2021 for the repatriation of antiquities from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. These antiquities consist of two important Benin Bronzes and an exquisite Ife Bronze head. We are currently before the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to it Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) in Paris, where we have instituted a claim against a Belgian who wanted to auction an Ife Bronze head valued at $5 million, at least. This Ife Bronze antiquity has been seized by the London Metropolitan Police, pending the decision on who the true owner is. Of course, we all know that the true owner is Nigeria.

At the meetings in Germany, I insisted, and it was resolved that provenance research on the Benin Bronzes cannot and must not delay their return, since the origin of Benin objects is not a subject of dispute as such objects are only associated with the Benin Kingdom.

On the German authorities’ proposal to return a ‘substantial part’ of the Benin Bronzes. I have asserted the stand of the Nigerian government by demanding full and unconditional release of the artefacts. Concerning recording the artefacts in 3D formats for posterity and academic sake under the ‘digitalbenin’ project, of which we are a part. I have told the Germans that this work of digitalizing the Benin Bronzes must not delay the return of the artefacts and that issues related to copyrights ownership and other rights over the digitalized objects will be discussed soon.