A museum in South-Eastern London has begun the official process to return to Nigeria, its artifacts previously looted from Benin City, Edo State in February 1897 by British troops.
The Horniman Museum which presently houses a collection of 72 treasured items that were forcefully taken from Benin City officially handed over ownership of the artifacts to the Nigerian government on Monday, November 28.
During the artifact handover, Horniman had stated that the returning of the looted objects was a moral and appropriate response after the request from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, NCMM, had come.
Meanwhile, it was found that the first six objects which were returned to their origin country were two Benin Bronze plaques from the royal palace. It had been handed over to Nigerian officials during a ceremony marking the transfer of the ownership of the 72 looted items.
However, the NCMM Director General, Prof. Abba Tijani, had explained that at least 5,000 Benin bronzes were presently scattered across the world. But he is hopeful that talks with the various institutions may result in deals that could lead to the return of the historical items from places including Germany and the US.
