In the 19th century, British troops stole thousands of Benin Bronzes in the then-independent kingdom of Benin, in the south of present-day Nigeria.
The sculptures were pillaged from the kingdom’s royal palace and have since been held in museums and private collections across Europe and the United States.
The four artefacts currently on display in Lagos will remain in the museum’s permanent collection, while the others will be returned to Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin – the traditional ruler of the kingdom of Benin in southern Nigeria.
“These are embodiments of the spirit and identity of the people from which they were taken from,” said Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
“All we ask of the world is to treat us with fairness, dignity and respect,” he said at the ceremony, where he announced that Germany had agreed to return more than 1,000 additional Benin Bronze pieces.
“The German government has actually signed a transfer agreement to hand over a 1,000 Benin Bronzes back” to Nigeria, he said.
