Netherlands to Return 119 Looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria This Month

The Netherlands is set to return 119 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria this month, in what is expected to be the largest single repatriation of artefacts to the country to date.

The Dutch Embassy in Nigeria confirmed on Thursday, June 5, 2025, that the artefacts will arrive during the week of June 16, with a formal handover ceremony scheduled for Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the National Museum in Lagos.

The bronzes, which were looted during the infamous 1897 British military invasion of Benin City, will ultimately be transferred to their cultural home at the National Museum in Benin City, Edo State.

“These bronzes should have never ended up in the Netherlands,” Bengt van Loosdrech, the Netherlands’ ambassador-designate to Nigeria, said in February during an earlier statement.

He acknowledged that Nigeria had been demanding the return of the artefacts for over five decades.

The anticipated return marks a significant milestone in the global restitution movement and comes amid growing international efforts to repatriate cultural heritage looted during colonial rule.

The Benin bronzes — a collection of intricately crafted plaques, sculptures, and ceremonial objects — were taken from the Royal Palace of Benin by British troops in a punitive expedition.

Thousands of these cultural treasures were subsequently dispersed to museums and private collections across Europe and North America.

The Dutch government had earlier pledged to begin the process of returning the bronzes this year, but until now, no exact timeline had been disclosed.

The repatriation adds to a growing list of returns from European nations, including Germany and the United Kingdom, which have in recent years begun transferring artefacts back to Nigeria in response to longstanding calls for justice and cultural restitution.