US returns 23 artifacts to Nigeria
• The items were part of thousands of artworks known as the Benin Bronzes stolen from the Benin Kingdom…
By Naomisophyblog
The United States of America has returned 23 looted artifacts to Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US, Dr Uzoma Emenike, on October 25, at a brief ceremony in Abuja, handed the repatriated artifacts to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, who received the artefacts, hailed the US and its institutions for the repatriation of the “highly-cherished” cultural artworks.
“These artefacts are intrinsic to the culture that produced them. A people ought not be denied the works of their forebears. It is in the light of this that we are delighted with today’s repatriation,” he said.
The information ministry said the returned artefacts “comprise 21 from the Smithsonian and one each from the National Gallery of Arts and the Rhode Island School of Design”.
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The repatriation is part of a bilateral cultural property agreement to prevent illegal import into the US of some categories of Nigerian artefacts.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, said the institution was “humbled and honoured to play a small role in transferring ownership of the art works to Nigeria”, based on ethical consideration.
The items were part of thousands of artworks known as the Benin Bronzes stolen from the Benin Kingdom in present-day Nigeria by British colonialists in 1897.
