Netherlands agrees to return 119 stolen Benin bronzes to Nigeria

Thursday, February 20, 2025 - The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) has said Nigeria will be receiving 119 looted Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands in June. 

The bronzes were looted during the British attack on Benin Kingdom in 1897 and found their way to the Netherlands. 

Of the 119 objects being returned, 113 of them were among the Dutch State Collection, while the remaining six were returned by the Municipality of Rotterdam. 

It was gathered that the repatriation agreement was signed on Wednesday between both countries.

The signing ceremony took place at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden, the Netherlands, where the Benin bronzes were previously displayed.

Mr Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of NCMM, in a statement on Monday, said that 119 Benin bronzes would be returned to Nigeria in batches. 

Holloway said the circumstance surrounding the return was built on years of purposeful, joint pursuits and long-standing friendship between the two countries.

“NCMM wrote formally in September 2022, requesting an unconditional return of the Benin Bronzes in the Netherlands; he stated.

“In July 2024 at the European Union and African Union conference in Ethiopia, the discussion on repatriation was reignited between the Netherlands and Nigeria.

“And in November 2024, after several discussions, the recommendation of the independent Colonial Collections Committee was favourable and informed the Netherlands’s government decision to return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.

"The return of the 119 objects will represent the single largest physical return of Benin antiquities directly linked to the 1897 British punitive expedition with the first batch scheduled to arrive in Nigeria by June.

"The circumstance surrounding this return is built on years of purposeful, joint pursuits and the long-standing friendship of our nations.

“This is witnessed in regular engagements in diplomatic consultations on bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest.”

Holloway noted that the Netherlands’ fair-mindedness was equally seen in the immense support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria to the NCMM.

He said their work and support leading to this repatriation could not be understated.

"The NCMM would like to take this opportunity to thank the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.

"We also appreciate our Honorable Minister, Hannatu Musawa for all the invaluable support rendered in making this significant development possible,” he added.