Swiss Museums Return 18 Looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
International
Onikan, Lagos — In a significant step toward restoring Nigeria’s cultural heritage, three Swiss museums have repatriated 18 major artefacts from the historic Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria.
The handover took place on June 29, 2026, during a formal ceremony at the National Museum in Onikan, Lagos.
The returned items are among the world-famous Benin Bronzes intricate courtly and religious objects looted by British forces during the 1897 punitive expedition against Benin City (in present-day Edo State).
They include cast metal and ivory pieces used for ancestor veneration, political functions, and royal rites.
Breakdown of the Return
• 14 artefacts from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich
• 2 artefacts from Museum Rietberg Zurich
• 2 artefacts from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève (MEG)
Switzerland also returned five additional seized Nigerian artefacts (a bronze bracelet and four archaeological monoliths from the Niger Delta region) as part of the same process.
The ceremony was attended by Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Olugbile Holloway and directors of the returning Swiss museums.
During the event, Baume-Schneider and Musawa signed a bilateral agreement on the import, export, and repatriation of cultural property. The deal aims to combat illicit trafficking, facilitate future returns, and strengthen cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Baume-Schneider noted the significance of the moment, emphasizing that while the artefacts had been preserved abroad, “they were never ours to keep.”
The Benin Bronzes were created from the 16th century onward at the royal court of the Kingdom of Benin. They represent one of Africa’s most sophisticated artistic traditions in metal casting.
Following the British invasion and sacking of Benin City in 1897, thousands of these objects were looted, sold on the international art market, and dispersed to museums across Europe and North America.
This Swiss return follows provenance research conducted through the Benin Initiative Switzerland (launched in 2021), which confirmed the objects’ origins and the circumstances of their removal.
Ownership of 28 Swiss-held Benin artefacts was formally transferred to Nigeria in March 2026; the physical return of these 18 pieces completes a major phase of that process. Nine other works remain in Switzerland on loan for continued study and display.
Some of the returned pieces will go on display at the National Museum in Lagos, even as majority will be housed at the Oba Ovonramwen Storage facility at the National Museum in Benin City.
The NCMM plans to establish a world-class gallery dedicated to recently repatriated Benin artefacts (including those from the Netherlands and expected returns from Cambridge).
This repatriation adds to a growing global movement.
Previous returns have come from Germany (21 bronzes in 2022), the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland.
Nigeria continues to advocate for the full return of all looted Benin artefacts still held abroad.
The return not only restores physical objects but also enables Nigerian scholars, artists, students, and communities to engage with their heritage on their own terms, a powerful act of cultural reclamation and international partnership.
