The Netherlands will return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria as part of ongoing efforts to restore stolen artifacts.
The agreement was signed on Tuesday by Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science, Eppo Bruins, and Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Director-General, Olugbile Holloway.
The artifacts, taken during colonial times, include 113 pieces from the Dutch State Collection and six from the Municipality of Rotterdam.
They are expected to arrive in Nigeria later this year.
At the signing ceremony in the Netherlands, the Dutch minister acknowledged the importance of returning the artifacts to their rightful owners.
He noted that Nigeria has been advocating for their return for over 50 years and described the repatriation as a step toward correcting historical wrongs.
NCMM’s Director-General, Holloway, called the return a major achievement, stating that it marks the largest single repatriation of Benin antiquities directly linked to the 1897 British invasion of Benin.
He also expressed hope that other nations would follow the Netherlands’ example.
Several countries, including Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, have returned or transferred ownership of looted Benin Bronzes.
In 2022, Germany returned over 1,000 pieces, while museums in the U.S. sent back 31. However, the British Museum, which holds the largest collection, has not agreed to return its artifacts, citing legal restrictions.
The return of the Benin Bronzes has sparked debates in Nigeria about where they should be housed.
In 2021, a dispute arose between former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oba Ewuare II of Benin over whether they should be kept in the Benin Royal Museum or the proposed Edo Museum of West African Arts.
The federal government later resolved the issue by officially recognizing the Oba of Benin as the rightful custodian of the artifacts in April 2023.