Nigeria has reclaimed two Benin bronzes, a bronze relief plaque, and a commemorative head, looted during the 1897 British invasion of the Benin Kingdom, repatriated from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States.
Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, received the artefacts, thanking Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar for facilitating their return.
Musawa stated that Nigeria is in conversation with other institutions holding these artefacts and will begin the process of returning them to their rightful owners soon.
Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, described the return as a historic moment, symbolizing Nigeria’s broader restitution struggle, with objects from Ife also awaiting repatriation.
