The federal government has recovered 31 Benin bronzes from three museums in the United States 125 years after they were stolen.
NAN reports that 29 artefacts were returned by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art while one was recovered from the National Gallery of Art, and another from the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed and , director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Tijani witnessed the transfer of the artefacts.
Aghatise Erediauwa, who represented the Oba of Benin, also witnessed the repatriation ceremony on Tuesday at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Speaking at the event, the minister said: “We have also received or are in the process of receiving repatriated artefacts from The Netherlands, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Mexico, the University of Cambridge in the UK, and Germany, among others.
“Let me state clearly that Nigeria, as part of the global cultural heritage tradition, will not depart from the norms already established by practitioners in this field.
“Therefore, our museums will sustain the tradition of exchanges and collaborations with museums in the United States and other parts of the world.
“Nigeria looks forward to working with these institutions on joint exhibitions and other educational exchanges. By returning the artefacts, these institutions are together writing new pages in history.
“Their brave decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating.”