Nigeria has received 18 priceless Benin Kingdom artefacts from three Swiss museums, marking another milestone in the country’s long-running campaign to recover cultural treasures looted during the 1897 British invasion of the Benin Kingdom.
The artefacts were formally handed over on Monday at the National Museum in Lagos during a ceremony attended by senior Nigerian and Swiss officials, according to Channels Television.
The returned objects, widely known as the Benin Bronzes, include religious and ceremonial items made from metal and ivory. Fourteen artefacts came from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, while two each were returned by Museum Rietberg Zurich and the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève.
Switzerland also returned five additional cultural items seized during criminal proceedings in the country. These include a bronze bracelet and four archaeological monoliths from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
During the ceremony, Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, signed an agreement on the transfer of cultural property. The agreement strengthens cooperation between both countries to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and facilitate their repatriation.
The restitution followed years of collaborative provenance research under the Benin Initiative Switzerland, which established that the artefacts had been looted during the British military expedition against the Benin Kingdom in 1897.
The new bilateral agreement creates a legal framework for cooperation on the import, export and return of cultural property, while supporting the protection of cultural heritage.
Nigerian officials said the return of the artefacts restores an important part of the country’s historical memory, spiritual traditions and artistic heritage. They added that the objects will enable researchers, students, artists and the public to study and preserve the collections within Nigeria.
Some of the artefacts will be displayed at the National Museum in Lagos, while most will eventually be returned to their original home in Edo State.
The ceremony was attended by the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, representatives of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, and the directors of the three Swiss museums involved in the restitution.
