Nigeria Receives Repatriated Benin Bronzes, Including a Bronze Plaque and Commemorative Head, from US Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Nigerian government today, Monday, November 17, 2025, announced the successful repatriation of two significant Benin Bronzes from the United States, marking another victory in the country’s decades-long campaign to recover its looted cultural treasures.

The repatriated artefacts a bronze relief plaque and a commemorative head were formally received by the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy in Abuja, after being returned by the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was commended for facilitating the seamless transfer.

The Minister of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, hailed the occasion as a “historic moment for Nigeria,” emphasizing that the repatriation reaffirms the nation’s cultural sovereignty. “We are still having conversations with several other institutions that hold these artefacts, and soon the process of returning them all to their rightful owners will begin,” the Minister stated, signalling a strong commitment to the ongoing restitution struggle.

A Symbolic Return to the Rightful Owners

The two pieces are part of the vast collection of over 2,000 brass and bronze sculptures violently seized by British forces during the punitive invasion of the Benin Kingdom in 1897 and subsequently dispersed worldwide.

The Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Olugbile Holloway, acknowledged the presence of high chiefs representing the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, during the symbolic handover. Holloway stressed that the return of the pieces, while symbolic for the Benin Kingdom, holds immense significance for Nigeria’s broader restitution drive, which includes objects looted from other ancient Nigerian kingdoms like Ife.

This latest repatriation from the US follows a 2023 Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening cultural cooperation and securing the return of looted artefacts, underscoring the success of diplomatic efforts under the current administration.