The United States has repatriated 23 stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, Charmingpro reports.
The development was part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government and the country’s foreign partners to recover artefacts looted by the British during their invasion of Benin Kingdom in 1897.
The returned artefacts comprise 21 Bronzes from the Smithsonian and one each from the National Gallery of Arts and the Rhode Island School of Design.
The Federal Government launched a campaign for the return and restitution of Nigeria’s looted/smuggled artefacts from around the world in November 2019.
Nigeria and Germany have also agreed on the repatriation of the looted artefacts.
At the repatriation ceremony in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, October 11, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, commended the US for the repatriation of the looted artefacts.