The Netherlands has revealed that over 100 Benin Bronzes that were plundered from Nigeria by British troops in the 1800s into a Dutch museum will be returned.
These sculptures hold cultural significance, as the carvings were stolen when Benin City, which is modern-day Nigeria’s Edo state was destroyed in 1897.
Museums all over the Netherlands were afforded some of Benin Bronzes, while other treasures were sold to private collectors, as per the BBC.
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The Wereldmuseum is a tourist attraction in Holland, which for the last decades has displayed the beautiful carvings and artefacts.
Director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Olugbile Holloway said the return of the 119 artefacts is the “largest repatriation of Benin antiquities.”
Despite this, it isn’t all of these statues that are made of bronze.
Others were made of figurines, tusks, sculptures of Benin’s rulers, and an ivory mask, formed between the 15th and 19th Centuries.
On Wednesday, a transfer of agreement was expected to be signed, and Mr Holloway further stated that it could be the turning point for other countries as well.
“With this return, we are contributing to the redress of a historical injustice that is still felt today,” Dutch Minister of Culture, Education, and Science Eppo Bruins told the AFP news agency.
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To the people of Nigeria, the sculptures serve as a spiritual and historical source of strength, and having that back is a great pride to Edo State folk.
The theft of the items however still hurts, as they represent the line of life of their ancestors from the ancient Benin kingdom.
The return of these artefacts could nonetheless cause nations like Britain, which has over 900 artefacts, to return the Benin Bronzes.
According to reports, there have already been protests and demonstrations outside the British Museum to campaign for the return of their historical valuables.
A British law however stampedes the British Museum from giving back the Benin Bronzes, which many in Nigeria see as symbols of colonial violence, and the NCMM has formally requested their repatriation from museums worldwide.
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Come 2026, Nigeria plans to open the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City designed by British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, to house the largest-ever collection of Benin Bronzes.
