Switzerland Returns 23 Benin Artefacts To Nigeria

The Federal Government has received 23 cultural objects and looted artefacts from the Benin Kingdom that were returned by Switzerland.

NEWSNGR reports that the handover marks another step in Nigeria’s effort to bring back historical items taken from the country many years ago.

The returned collection includes 18 Benin Bronzes and five other cultural objects.

The bronzes were repatriated by three Swiss museums after years of research and review under a restitution process linked to colonial-era losses.

The items are believed to have been taken during the 1897 British military invasion of the Benin Kingdom.

The official handover took place at the National Museum in Lagos, where the National Commission for Museums and Monuments received the artefacts on behalf of the Nigerian government.

The event brought together officials from both Nigeria and Switzerland to complete the transfer process.

Of the 18 bronzes, 14 came from the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, two from the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, and two from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève.

Swiss authorities said the return followed detailed investigations under the Benin Initiative Switzerland, which confirmed the objects were removed during colonial military action.

The five additional items handed over include a bronze bracelet with historical value and four ancient monoliths linked to the Niger Delta region.

These objects were previously held by Swiss authorities during criminal investigations before their release for restitution.