Repatriation of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Benin Bronzes in a British Museum

The Benin Bronzes comprise a collection of more than 900 brass, bronze, ivory and wood artifacts created by the Edo people of the Kingdom of Benin (present-day southern Nigeria) from the 16th to the 19th centuries. These objects hold profound spiritual, historical and artistic significance for the Edo community and for Nigeria at large. They were seized during the British “punitive expedition” of 1897 and subsequently dispersed to museums and private collections across Europe and North America. Over the past decade, growing global awareness of colonial injustices has driven an international movement toward their repatriation.

Background

In February 1897, British forces launched a punitive military expedition against the Kingdom of Benin, ostensibly to punish an ambush on a British delegation. They looted the royal palace in Benin City and carried off thousands of artworks, including plaques, figures and regalia crafted in brass and bronze. Many items were auctioned in London and acquired by European museums, where they entered Western collections.

Display of Benin bronzes at Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Cambridge, March 2022

The British Museum in London became home to the largest single holding approximately 900 objects while scores of other institutions in Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United States obtained significant troves. Private collectors also acquired pieces, leading to fragmentation of the collection.

Repatriation efforts

Nigeria’s formal requests for return date back to the 1960s, but lacked institutional support in former colonial capitals.

The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property provided an international framework, though it applied only prospectively.

Germany

In July 2022, Germany became the first European country to sign a joint political declaration to restitute 1,130 bronzes. That accord committed Germany to return artifacts and to support archaeological work and museum development in Nigeria. The physical transfers have proceeded in stages due to logistical and diplomatic complexities. On December 20, 2022, Germany formally handed over an initial batch of 20 bronzes in Abuja, with Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stating this gesture acknowledged “the injustice of a colonial past”. In early 2023, several German cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne transferred ownership rights of a wider collection, with display loans negotiated to maintain occasional European exhibitions.

Netherlands

In February 2025, Nigeria and the Netherlands concluded an agreement for the return of 119 bronzes housed in Leiden's collections, marking the largest single restitution to date. The handover ceremony in Edo State featured Oba Ewuare II, who celebrated the return as a “divine intervention” in restoring cultural sovereignty.

United Kingdom

British institutions have moved more cautiously. The Horniman Museum in London became the first UK museum to return bronzes in November 2022. Negotiations continue with the British Museum, whose collection of around 900 objects remains protected by an act of Parliament. Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has also faced pressure to repatriate more than 100 items; those discussions are ongoing as of early 2025.

Institutional framework and stakeholder roles

Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and the Oba of Benin jointly oversee repatriation policy. A presidential decree in March 2023 vested custodianship of all returned bronzes in the Oba, while the NCMM handles interim conservation and public display. Plans for the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) in Benin City and a future Benin Royal Museum aim to provide permanent, climate-controlled homes for the artifacts. International cooperation includes training for Nigerian museum professionals, archaeological collaboration and funding support from former custodial states.