Oba of Benin Receives 18 Looted Artefacts 125 Years after British Raid

“To delay their return is to continue dispossession” — Ewuare II welcomes Swiss repatriation_

The palace drums rolled. The ancestors were coming home.

On Friday, Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, received 18 Benin cultural artefacts repatriated from Switzerland — 125 years after they were looted during the 1897 British punitive expedition.

For the Oba, this was not about museum pieces. It was about memory, power, and justice.

–‘“They are records of governance and spirituality”–‘

Among the returned items is an ancestral head of a Benin Oba, taken by force when British troops sacked the Benin Royal Court in 1897.

Receiving a Swiss delegation led by Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Oba was clear:

“The Benin bronzes are not curiosities. They are records of governance and spirituality of the Edo people taken by force. To delay their return is to continue dispossession by other means.”

He thanked the Swiss government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Monday Okpebholo, and all stakeholders who pushed the restitution process.

—A homecoming 125 years in the making—

Since ascending the throne, Oba Ewuare II said the Benin Royal Court has now received over 150 original looted artefacts. The process began under Oba Akenzua II, after Oba Eweka II rebuilt the palace destroyed in 1897.

In a symbolic moment, the Oba danced around the returned objects, commending the NCMM for its “steadfastness.”

Swiss Consul-General in Nigeria, Conny Camenzind, called the return “historic.” Prof. Alice Hertzog of a Swiss museum praised the Oba’s guidance since 2021.

Edo State officials including Speaker Blessing Agbebaku and SSG Musa Ikhilor described the ceremony as a “homecoming.”

—“Germany, the world — do the same”—

The Oba did not stop at Switzerland.

He urged Germany to honor its 2022 agreement with Nigeria to return over 1,000 Benin artworks. He also called on museums worldwide to confront colonial injustices and release what was taken.

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“125 years later, the ancestors are walking back into the palace,” a palace chief was heard saying. “This is only the beginning.”