Netherlands returns 119 artifacts looted from Nigeria

The Netherlands on Thursday returned 119 artifacts looted from Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia and a bell.

British soldiers looted the artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes and mostly housed in a museum in Leiden, in the late 19th century.

In recent years, museums across Europe and North America have moved to address ownership disputes over artifacts looted during the colonial era. Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments requested that they be returned.

During the handover ceremony in Edo State, Oba Ewuare II, the monarch and custodian of Benin culture, described the return of the artifacts as a “divine intervention.” Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments requested that the Benin Bronzes be returned.

The monarch said that restitution is a testament to the power of prayer and determination.

Marieke Van Bommel, director of the Wereld Museum, said the Dutch government is committed to returning artifacts that do not belong to the country.

Olugbile Holloway, the commission’s director, said the return of 119 artifacts marks the largest single repatriation. His organization is working hard to recover more items looted during colonial times.

Nigeria formally requested the return of hundreds of objects from museums worldwide in 2022. That year, 72 objects were returned from a London museum, while 31 were returned from a museum in Rhode Island.

The Benin Bronzes were stolen in 1897 when British forces under the command of Sir Henry Rawson sacked the Benin kingdom and forced Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, the monarch at the time, into a six-month exile. Benin is located in modern-day southern Nigeria.