• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
AFRIPOL

AFRIPOL

en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Mission Statement
  • Articles
  • Book Review
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

British museum returns looted Benin City artefacts to Nigeria

November 28, 2022 by AFRIPOL Leave a Comment

“Six artefacts looted by British troops 125 years ago from Benin City, in what is now Nigeria, are being repatriated to their place of origin, increasing pressure on the British Museum to follow suit.

The objects, including two 16th-century Benin bronze plaques ransacked from the royal palace, were handed to Abba Tijani, the director general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), at a ceremony at the Horniman Museum in south London on Monday.

Tijani said he hoped other museums holding looted artefacts from Benin City would be encouraged by the Horniman’s example. In particular, he believed that an agreement could soon be reached with the British Museum, the national cultural flagship that holds 900 objects, the largest collection in the world.

Prof Abba Tijani, the director general of Nigeria’s National Commission received the objects in London

The six artefacts handed over on Monday were selected as being representative of 72 Benin items in the Horniman’s collection. An agreement between the NCMM and the Horniman will allow the remaining 66 objects to stay in the UK on loan for the next 12 months, with a second phase of repatriations to come.

The move is the first time a UK government-funded institution has agreed to hand back treasures looted by British forces. Two other Benin bronzes – a cockerel sculpture held by Jesus College, Cambridge, and the head of an oba (ruler) held by Aberdeen University – have also been returned from Britain to Nigeria.

The bronzes were stolen in 1897, when British forces sacked the Benin kingdom. The royal palace was burned and looted and the oba exiled.

The British confiscated all royal treasures, giving some to individual officers and taking most to auction in London. Thousands of objects eventually made their way into museums and private collections around the world.

The British Museum has resisted calls to return the objects in its collection, arguing it is prevented from doing so by the British Museum Act of 1963 and the Heritage Act of 1983.”

“Last month, Nigeria’s culture minister urged the British Museum to take action. Speaking at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, which returned 29 bronzes to Nigeria, Lai Mohammed said: “It’s not if, it’s when. They will eventually have to return these because the campaign is gaining strength by the day and, when they look at what other museums are doing, they will be compelled to return them.”

Credit: British The Guardian

Filed Under: Articles, Strategic Research & Analysis

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

US Janet Yellen in Senegal: Woos Africa as US Vies With China, Russia for Clout

January 19, 2023 By AFRIPOL

African Igbo Cultural Dance From Enugu, Nigeria.

January 18, 2023 By AFRIPOL

RSS AllAfrica News: Latest

  • Ghana: Fire Razes Twin Storey Building At Kwadaso-Siloam C'nity
    [Ghanaian Times] Fire swept through a twin storey building in the Kwadaso-Siloam community in the Ashanti Region on Saturday morning, destroying items worth thousands of Ghana Cedis.
  • Ghana: $350,000 Stem Project Inaugurated in Accra
    [Ghanaian Times] The Alpha Beta Education Centre (ABEC) in Accra has launched a $350,000 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) project to provide free structured programmes and trainings for students and teachers.
  • Ghana: Forestry Commission Decries Rampant Wildfires Within Transitional Zones
    [Ghanaian Times] The Forestry Commission (FC) has expressed worried about the rampant spate of wildfires within the transitional zones of the country.
  • Ghana: Ex-President Mahama Advocates Reinstitution, Extension of Debt Service Initiative for Debt-Strapped Countries
    [Ghanaian Times] Former President John Mahama has advocated the reinstitution and extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to afford Ghana and other debt-strapped countries some limited fiscal respite.
  • Nigeria: State House Will Lead Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan - Gambari
    [Leadership] Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has declared that the State House will lead the way in keying into the global shift towards renewable energy choices by government institutions in line with Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan.
  • Ghana: Energy Commission to Begin Enforcement of 19 New Regulations On Electrical Appliances, Renewable Energy Products
    [Ghanaian Times] The Energy Commission, will this year, begin the enforcement of 19 new regulations on the importation and manufacture of electrical appliances and renewable energy products in the country.

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center, AFRIPOL is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa.

Recent

  • Emmanuel Acho: Nigerian American stirs controversy for Saying He Doesn’t Have ‘Generational Trauma’ Like Black Americans because he was raised in a Nigerian Household
  • Tribunal Sacks duly elected Adeleke as Governor of Osun, Declares Oyetola as the Winner
  • Update: Peter Obi Can he Rescue Nigeria like Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew? Yes He Can!
  • Africa projected to outperform Globally in economic growth by AfDB Boss
  • Peter Obi/Datti makes History! The First Presidential Team to visit Boko Haram ravaged region of Southern Borno

Search

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States

Copyright © 2023 · AFRIPOL