Nigeria repatriates Benin bronzes from Germany after 125 years, some demanding compensation

The Nigerian and German governments signed on Friday, July 1, an agreement in Berlin for the return of 1,130 Benin bronzes from Germany.

Nigeria's Ministry of Information and Culture said the joint historic declaration will pave the way for the return of the bronzes 125 years after they were looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin during a British expedition in 1897.

“It's a historic moment for us, for our two countries, that we are now signing an agreement for the return of the Benin bronzes,” Abba Isa Tijani, director of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, told DW ahead of the ceremony on Friday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture Lai Muhammad described the planned return as the “single largest repatriation of artifacts anywhere in the world.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that this pace-setting action by the Federal Government of Germany will become a harbinger of more repatriation of cultural property to their place of origin, as other museums and institutions are expected to take a cue from what Germany has done,” he said.

For her part, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said, “It was wrong to take the (Benin) bronzes. It was wrong to keep them for (125 years). This is the beginning to right the wrong.”

The artifacts include sculptures and reliefs made of bronze and brass, as well as pieces of ivory, coral and wood.

The British had stolen these holdings from the former Kingdom of Benin in a brutal campaign in 1897 that almost completely destroyed the city of Benin, which is in present-day northern Nigeria.

These stolen artworks were auctioned off in London at the turn of the 20th century, with Germany acquiring the world's second largest collection.

“It's a very good thing. This will allow Africa to come to terms with its past and reclaim these objects that would never have left Africa”' if colonizers hadn't taken them, the leader of the Bana people in Cameroon, Fon Sikam Happi V told DW.

However, Fon Happi stressed the need to pay compensation to the owners of antiquities, which would help Africa “build proper museums to house these artifacts.”

The Kingdom of Benin was also known as the Edo Kingdom or the Benin Empire, and its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria.

The Kingdom of Benin was formed out of the former Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the eleventh century AD, and lasted until its destruction by Britain in 1897, having become one of the oldest and most advanced states on the coasts of West Africa.

Many African countries and communities have been calling for the return of their looted antiquities since the colonial period. However, there are many obstacles that prevent the repatriation of these artifacts, perhaps the most important of which is the failure of many of these countries to sign the international agreement for the recovery of national antiquities displayed abroad.

Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms that indigenous peoples have “the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects.”

“States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs,” the declaration adds.

The declaration was passed in September 2007 with support from 143 countries. The four opposing countries - Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States - later endorsed the declaration.