The Netherlands has agreed to return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, marking another major step in the country’s efforts to recover its stolen cultural heritage.
The official agreement for the transfer will be signed today by Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science, Eppo Bruins, and the Director-General of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway.
The artefacts, which include items from both the Dutch State Collection and the Municipality of Rotterdam, are expected to arrive in Nigeria later this year.
Bruins said that returning the Benin Bronzes is an effort to correct past injustices. He praised Nigeria’s long struggle to reclaim its looted treasures and highlighted the importance of cultural heritage in preserving history. “The Benin Bronzes are indispensable to Nigeria. It is good that they are going back,” he said during the signing ceremony in Leiden, Netherlands.
Holloway described the return as historic, saying this is the largest direct repatriation of artefacts linked to the British invasion of Benin in 1897. He thanked the Netherlands for its support and encouraged other countries to follow their example.
This move follows similar actions by Germany, the United States, and the Horniman Museum in London, which have returned Benin Bronzes in recent years. However, the British Museum, which holds the largest collection, has refused to return them, citing legal restrictions.
The return of the artefacts has sparked debate in Nigeria over where they should be kept. Some believe they should be housed in the Benin Royal Museum, while others support the Edo Museum of West African Arts.
In 2023, the Nigerian government officially recognised the Oba of Benin as the rightful custodian of the artefacts.
