The Federal Government has taken custody of 23 looted cultural objects from the Benin Kingdom, returned by Switzerland in a fresh push to recover Nigeria’s stolen heritage.
Naija News reports that the handover, which took place at the National Museum in Lagos, forms part of ongoing efforts to repatriate historical treasures taken out of the country decades ago.
The returned items comprise 18 Benin Bronzes and five other cultural pieces, all believed to have been carted away during the 1897 British invasion of the Benin Kingdom.
The bronzes were released by three Swiss museums following years of research under a restitution process tied to colonial-era plunder. Of the 18 pieces, 14 came from the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, two from the Museum Rietberg, and two from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève.
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments received the artefacts on behalf of the Nigerian government, in a ceremony that brought together officials from both countries to finalise the transfer.
Swiss authorities said the restitution followed thorough investigations under the Benin Initiative Switzerland, which established that the items were taken during colonial military aggression.
Among the five additional pieces returned are a historic bronze bracelet and four ancient monoliths connected to the Niger Delta region. These had earlier been held by Swiss authorities in connection with criminal investigations before being cleared for return.
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