Nigeria Secures Return of 18 Colonial-Era Artefacts from Switzerland
Switzerland has returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, marking another significant step in the country’s long-running effort to recover cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era. The handover took place on Monday at the National Museum in Lagos, where Swiss authorities officially transferred the items during a ceremony attended by cultural officials and museum representatives. The return forms part of a broader agreement under which Switzerland will eventually transfer ownership of 28 artefacts to Nigeria. The repatriation was coordinated through the Benin Initiative Switzerland, a programme launched in 2021 to trace the origins of Benin objects held in Swiss museum collections and address their colonial-era acquisition. The 18 returned pieces came from three institutions: 14 from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, two from the Museum Rietberg Zurich, and two from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève. Nigeria’s culture minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, described the development as a milestone in international cooperation and dialogue, noting that the return represents more than the recovery of physical objects but also a restoration of cultural identity and history.
The artefacts are part of the famed Benin Bronzes, a collection of hundreds of plaques and sculptures made of metal and ivory that once adorned the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day southern Nigeria. The works held deep political and religious significance within the kingdom. Most of the bronzes were looted in 1897 during a British punitive expedition that resulted in widespread destruction and the collapse of the Benin Kingdom into colonial rule. The stolen artefacts were later dispersed to museums across Europe and North America. Alongside the bronzes, Switzerland also returned a bronze bracelet and four archaeological monoliths from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, which had been seized during criminal proceedings and later transferred to the Swiss state.
The return is part of a wider global movement to restore African heritage. In recent years, countries including the Netherlands, France, and institutions such as the University of Cambridge have also agreed to return or transfer ownership of Benin artefacts and other looted cultural objects to Nigeria and other African nations. Nigeria has long pushed for the return of hundreds of Benin Bronzes still held in foreign collections, including more than 900 objects in the British Museum, many of which remain under dispute due to legal and ownership arguments. Some of the returned artefacts will be exhibited at the National Museum in Lagos, while others will be transferred to Benin City for temporary safekeeping. Nigerian authorities say plans are underway to establish a dedicated world-class gallery to house repatriated Benin artefacts from Switzerland, the Netherlands, and future returns.
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