Oba of Benin receives 18 looted artefacts after 125 years

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By Ozioruva Aliu

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The Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, has received 18 cultural artefacts repatriated from Switzerland after 125 years in foreign custody. He emphasized that the royal objects are not mere curiosities but vital records of governance, spirituality, and artistry of the Edo people, taken by force during colonial incursions.

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Among the returned items is an ancestral head of a Benin Oba, looted during the 1897 British punitive expedition against the Benin Royal Court.

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Receiving the Swiss delegation led by the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Olugbile Holloway, Oba Ewuare II expressed gratitude to the Swiss government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Monday Okpebholo, and other stakeholders for their role in the restitution process.

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“The Benin bronzes are not curiosities. They are records of governance and spirituality of the Edo people taken by force. To delay their return is to continue dispossession by other means,” the monarch declared.

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He noted that since ascending the throne, the Benin Royal Court has received over 150 original looted artefacts, continuing a restitution process that began under Oba Akenzua II after Oba Eweka II rebuilt the palace destroyed in 1897.

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The Oba urged Germany to honor its 2022 agreement with Nigeria to return over 1,000 Benin artworks and called on other museums worldwide to address colonial injustices by releasing looted artefacts.

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In a symbolic gesture, Oba Ewuare danced around the returned objects, commending NCMM and its Director-General for their steadfastness.

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Swiss Consul-General in Nigeria, Conny Camenzind, described the return as historic, while Prof. Alice Hertzog of a Swiss museum praised the Oba’s guidance since 2021. Edo State officials, including Speaker Blessing Agbebaku and SSG Musa Ikhilor, joined the ceremony, describing the event as a “homecoming.”

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