The Horniman Museum in London has started on Monday the process of returning 19th century pieces looted by British troops to Nigeria, their place of origin.
The gallery, located in southeast London, is returning a total of 72 items, following a formal ceremony held Monday night in the presence of Nigerian royalty, an act that transfers ownership to Nigeria unconditionally.
Horniman thus becomes the first museum in the UK to officially take such a step.
The head of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Tijani, has told the BBC that the transfer of the looted objects is «a great day», while expressing hope that other museums will be encouraged by Horniman’s example, reports ‘The Guardian’.
In particular, Tijani has pointed out that an agreement could soon be reached with the British Museum, which owns 900 pieces, has a large proportion of Benin objects.
For his part, the director of the Horniman, Nick Merriman, explained that after a detailed investigation «there was no doubt that they had been looted, so there was a moral argument for their return».
«I think we’re seeing a turning point not only around restitution and repatriation, but also in museums recognizing their colonial history, and that’s better history,» Merriman added, as reported by the BBC.
Despite these statements, the museum director clarified that his museum has been able to remove items from its collection because it is a charitable organization, while those that are not are subject to legislation that prevents them from taking such action.
The British Museum, in fact, is prohibited by Parliament from «withdrawing access» to items in its collections, except in very specific circumstances.
The Benin artworks were forcibly removed in 1897 as part of a British military expedition. The British Army then occupied the city of Benin, in present-day Nigerian territory.
The African country had claimed the pieces because it considers that «the objects were acquired by force».
