UK Museum to Return Looted Benin Artefacts to Nigeria

The Horniman Museum in London is set to return 72 artefacts looted from Benin Kingdom in the 19th century back to Nigeria.

The looted artefacts include 12 brass plaques, a brass cockerel and a key to the king’s palace.

The move followed a request by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in January, signaling a response to the ongoing negotiations to repatriate Nigeria’s stolen artefacts.

The museum, in south-east London, says it has consulted with community members, visitors, schoolchildren, academics, heritage professionals and artists based in Nigeria and the UK. The museum’s chair said it was “moral and appropriate” to return them.

Last year, Germany announced it would return over 7,000 of such artefacts housed in its museums to Nigeria.