FIC Report (Edo State) – The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has repatriated two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, authorities announced on Monday, describing the move as a major milestone in the country’s ongoing cultural restitution efforts.
Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), said the return marks “the restoration of a significant part of Nigeria’s history,” noting that it underscores the nation’s long-standing campaign to recover its looted heritage.
The bronzes—among hundreds of plaques and sculptures seized by British forces during the 1897 invasion of the Benin Kingdom—date back to the 1500s and are considered priceless works of African art. Although museums in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and other Western countries have returned several hundred items in recent years, many more remain missing or held abroad.
Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Hannatu Musa Musawa, hailed the Boston handover as a “historic moment,” adding that the government is pursuing further negotiations to ensure the return of all remaining artefacts.
Within Nigeria, however, discussions continue over who should assume custodianship of the returned pieces. The Oba of Benin maintains that ownership rests with the Benin Royal Court, while others fear that the newly established Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) may take control—an assertion its management has repeatedly denied.
The development follows closely on the heels of another significant restitution: Britain and South Africa recently returned more than 130 gold and bronze artefacts to Ghana’s Asante Kingdom. The items—ranging from royal regalia to ceremonial drums—were formally received by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi. Many had been taken during British military campaigns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The latest Ghanaian restitutions include 110 objects from the Barbier-Muller Museum in Geneva and 25 others donated by British art historian Hermione Waterfield. In 2024 alone, the Manhyia Palace Museum recorded the return or loan of 67 artefacts from institutions such as the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles.
Signed:
Omoluogbe Ruth
FIC Benin city
18 November,2025
