Netherlands to hand over 119 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria on June 21

The Netherlands will return 119 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria this month, marking one of the most significant repatriations of cultural artefacts to the country.

The Dutch embassy in Nigeria confirmed on Thursday, June 5, that the artefacts will arrive during the week of June 16. A formal handover ceremony is scheduled for June 21 at the National Museum in Lagos.

Following the ceremony, the bronzes will be transferred to the National Museum in Benin City, Edo State—their place of origin. This return is believed to be the single largest consignment of Benin bronzes handed back to Nigeria by any country to date.

The bronzes were among thousands of sacred and ceremonial objects looted by British forces during the 1897 punitive expedition against the Benin Kingdom. Many of the items ended up in European and North American museums and private collections.

In a previous statement made in February, the Dutch embassy acknowledged that the artefacts should never have been taken to the Netherlands. Bengt van Loosdrech, the ambassador-designate to Nigeria, noted that the country had been demanding the return of the bronzes for over five decades.

The return of the bronzes is part of a broader global reckoning with colonial-era looting, as nations and institutions face growing calls to return stolen cultural heritage to their rightful owners.