Nigeria is set to receive 119 looted Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands in June, marking the largest single repatriation of these artefacts

Nigeria is set to receive 119 looted Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands in June 2025, following a historic repatriation agreement between both nations.

This marks the largest single return of Benin antiquities directly linked to the 1897 British punitive expedition.

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) confirmed the repatriation, which includes 113 artefacts from the Dutch State Collection and six from the Municipality of Rotterdam.

These bronzes were originally taken during the British attack on the Benin Kingdom and later found their way to museums and private collections in the Netherlands.

The signing ceremony for the repatriation took place at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden, the Netherlands, where the bronzes were previously displayed.

Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of NCMM, highlighted that the return is the result of years of diplomatic negotiations and cooperation between Nigeria and the Netherlands.

The NCMM formally requested the unconditional return of the Benin Bronzes in September 2022. Discussions gained momentum in July 2024 during the European Union and African Union conference in Ethiopia.

By November 2024, the Netherlands’ independent Colonial Collections Committee recommended the return, leading to the government’s final decision.

Holloway acknowledged the Netherlands’ fair-minded approach and the strong diplomatic ties that made this historic return possible.

He also expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, as well as Minister Hannatu Musawa, for their efforts in securing the return of these cultural treasures.