German authorities on Friday announced the government has decided to return hundreds of artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria next year, reported Africa News.
The ancient pillaged artifacts were mostly looted from West Africa by a British colonial expedition and subsequently sold to collections around the world. About 500 of the plundered artifacts are currently on display in several German museums.
The Ethnological Museum in Berlin has one of the world’s largest collections of historical objects from the Kingdom of Benin, estimated to include about 530 items, including 440 bronzes. In total, around 25 German museums possess looted items from Benin. The British Museum has the single largest collection of Benin bronzes.
Notably, Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany had called for the bronzes to be returned.
The handover of the artifacts is expected to take place next year under an agreement reached between Germany and Nigeria on Thursday.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the return of the artifacts is a turning point in the government’s approach to colonial history.
German Culture Minister Monika Grutters said the aim is to ensure a coordinated national approach to restitution and reach a joint settlement with Nigeria.
The minister said that the government will present a binding roadmap for the legal and logistical aspects of the restitution process by the end of June, with the first objects to be handed over in 2022.
“We are facing up to our historical and moral responsibility to illuminate and come to terms with Germany’s colonial past,” Grutters said in a statement. “The way we handle the Benin bronzes is a touchstone for this. We are aiming for as much transparency as possible and above all, substantial restitution. We are planning the first returns in 2022.”
Last month, Scotland’s University of Aberdeen agreed to return a Benin bronze sculpture to Nigeria, saying it was acquired by British soldiers in 1897 in “reprehensible circumstances.”
