Oba of Benin exposes foiled attempt to re-loot artefacts
The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, has revealed that an international cartel attempted to re-loot 119 priceless Benin artefacts recently returned by the Netherlands, but the plot failed.
The artefacts, originally looted during the British invasion of Benin in 1897, were formally handed over at a ceremony held in the Oba’s palace in Benin City. The return marks a significant diplomatic and cultural victory for Nigeria and the Benin Kingdom after years of advocacy and negotiations.
Present at the historic event were the Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Mr. Olugbile Holloway, and the Director-General of the Wereld Museum in the Netherlands, Ms. Marieke van Bommel, who led the Dutch delegation that officially returned the artefacts.
The Oba credited the return to persistent efforts by the Benin Royal Court and formal requests from the Nigerian government, with support from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. He expressed deep gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Monday Okpebholo for ensuring the artefacts were returned and not diverted or re-looted.
“There were groups in this country, backed by international collaborators, who tried to steal these treasures again,” the Oba said. “But they failed—our ancestors protected them.”
He warned against attempts by political actors to interfere with the kingdom’s cultural heritage and praised the current NCMM leadership for resisting efforts to sabotage the repatriation. The monarch contrasted the present director’s role with that of a predecessor he accused of complicity in earlier re-looting efforts.
Ms. van Bommel reaffirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to returning looted cultural property, noting that the bronzes had been in Dutch museums for over a century and were returned in line with cultural restitution policy. The Dutch government also bore the full cost of the return.
An official signing ceremony between Nigeria and the Netherlands is scheduled for June 21 in Lagos. Edo State Government, represented by Secretary to the State Government Musa Ikhilor, pledged to support the Benin Palace with infrastructure for conservation, including the construction of a world-class museum to preserve and display the artefacts.
