By John Ikani
The Horniman Museum, based in south-east London, the United Kingdom, has kick-started the process of returning looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
The Museum, which houses a collection of 72 treasured items that were taken by force from Benin City in 1897, officially handed over ownership of the artefacts to the Nigerian Government on Monday.
It described returning the looted objects as a “moral and appropriate” response after a request from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).
The first six objects returned including two 16th-century Benin bronze plaques ransacked from the royal palace, were handed to Abba Tijani, the director general of the NCMM at a ceremony in the Horniman Museum.
The artefacts handed over were selected as being representative of 72 Benin items in the Horniman’s collection.
A new agreement between the NCMM and the Horniman will allow the remainder to stay in Britain on loan, with the second phase of physical repatriation to follow in due course.
Tijani later explained that about 5,000 Benin bronzes were currently “scattered” around the world.
He went on to express hope that 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.
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.
