London Museum to return 72 stolen Benin artefacts

The Horniman Museum in London announced on the weekend that it will return 72 artefacts to the Nigerian government.

The collection includes 12 brass plaques known as Benin Bronzes, which were looted by British soldiers in 1897 from Benin City, now located within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Prof Abba Tijani, director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), welcomed the return of the artefacts that were created from at least the 16th century onwards in the West African Kingdom of Benin by specialist guilds working for the royal court of the Oba (king).

He said: “We very much welcome this decision by the Trustees of the Horniman Museum and Gardens. Following the endorsement by the Charity Commission, we look forward to a productive discussion on loan agreements and collaborations between the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the Horniman.”

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Benin’s rich history is reflected in many European collections – with over 900 objects from the historic Kingdom of Benin in the British Museum’s collection. Relics from Benin are also lent regularly around the world.

During the second half of the 19th century, the balance of power between West African kingdoms and the European nations they traded with shifted towards the control of the latter. This led to the territorial land-grab known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’ – the invasion and colonisation of the continent.

Britain’s colonisation efforts eventually led to a clash with the Kingdom of Benin, which British forces seized in February 1897. There are no exact figures for the number of Benin citizens killed in the city’s conquest, nor for the destruction of the many monuments caught in the fire, including the Benin Royal Palace.

However, many organisations and companies have come forward to admit culpability for their actions in colonisation and the transatlantic slave trade, whose echoes can be heard through racial injustice and inequality that pervades not only between “colonised” and “coloniser” countries but also within more economically prosperous countries like the UK.

Artefacts like the Benin Bronzes attract tourism and can be a method of generating economic wealth, something West African nations have been deprived of post-colonialism.

As a result, many African leaders and organisations have openly protested their artefacts being held overseas. In October 2021, the British Museum received a written request for the return of ‘Nigerian antiquities’ from the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Nigeria.

Representatives of the Benin Royal Palace have made several public statements asking for the Benin collections to be returned, most recently at the Benin Dialogue Group meeting that was hosted by the British Museum in October 2021.

Last month, the Oxford and Cambridge universities agreed to repatriate more than 200 Benin bronze items after formal claims from Nigeria’s NCMM.

As part of their announcement for the return of the antiques, the Horniman said they “will now discuss with NCMM the process for the formal transfer of ownership, and the possibility of retaining some objects on loan for display, research and education”. It remains to be seen how much of the collection will be returned with no strings attached.