On 29 June 2026, three Swiss museums officially restituted 23 looted Benin Kingdom artefacts—including 18 Benin bronzes originally in their possession and 5 confiscated pieces—to the Federal Government in a diplomatic handover ceremony at the National Museum, Lagos. The exchange involved Swiss Federal Chancellor, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, and Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, signing an agreement regarding the importation, exportation, and repatriation of cultural property in accordance with the 1970 UNESCO convention. It’s the second such agreement between the Swiss Government and another African country over art, since one with Côte d’Ivoire in July 2025.
18 artefacts came from: the Geneva Ethnography Museum (2), the University of Zurich’s Ethnographic Museum (14), and the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (2), while the remaining 5—a bracelet and 4 Ikom monoliths from the Niger Delta region—came from separate criminal proceedings, as seen in reports by Artnet and Euro News. Altogether, they are part of a larger collection of about 28 pieces, including 10 that will remain on loan by mutual agreement between both countries.
The restituted artefacts were a culmination of the efforts of the Benin Initiative Switzerland. Founded in 2021, the organisation works with 8 Swiss museums, including the previously mentioned four—led by the Museum Rietberg. According to the Swiss Government’s Federal Council portal, “the project investigated the provenance of Benin artefacts held in Swiss collections, and its findings formed the basis for the decisions regarding restitution taken.” The Benin Initiative Switzerland played a key role in establishing ties between both countries, in line with a wave of restitutions of Benin artefacts by European countries. Art Forum reports that the project is in accordance with efforts like the University of Cambridge’s restitution of 166 pieces on 8 February 2026—the aftermath of a January 2022 request by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM)—Netherland’s return of 119 pieces as announced in February 2025, and Germany’s declaration to return about 1,130 Benin bronzes within their muesums—22 of which were returned as of the official announcement in December 2022.
Following this handover, the artefacts were received at the Government House, Benin City, on Wednesday, 1 July, 2026, in a meeting between the Edo State Government, the Director-General of the NCMM Olugbile Holloway, and the Swiss envoy, consisting of Swiss Consul General in Lagos, Conny Camenzind, Director of the University of Zurich’s Ethnographic Museum, Alice Hertzog, Curator Alex Malefakis, and other officials. Apart from the historical and cultural relevance of Benin as the home of Bronze, the visit was especially relevant, as the National Museum, Edo State, will host the majority of artefacts not housed at the National Museum, Lagos. Holloway reportedly alluded to this connection during the meeting, referring to Benin as ‘ground zero’ in terms of restitution, and acknowledging plans with the Oba of Benin’s Palace in this regard.
Speaking during the meeting, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholor, acknowledged the role of the Oba’s Palace as paramount, and discouraged further politicisation of the matter regarding the Bronzes’ home. The context of these statements is two-fold.
First, the Bronzes—technically a misnomer as some of the artefacts are made from wood, cast ivory, and brass—were originally stolen from the Palace. In 1897, the Punitive Expedition took place, an invasion by the British that led to the looting of between 3,000 and 10,000 cultural artefacts from the Palace and surrounding areas. The Oba of Benin at the time, Oba Ovonramwen, had been pressured to sign a treaty of protection with the British in March 1892. He failed to comply with the terms, and when a delegation of British officials, led by the acting British regional Consul-General, James Phillips of the Niger Coast Protectorate, arrived in January 1897, they were ambushed, and seven were killed by chiefs, unbeknownst to the Oba. In their retaliation, the British returned with an army of about 1,200-1,400 soldiers in a 3-week campaign that saw the killing of the Edo people—a marker of this brutality is that the British didn’t deem it fit to account for the number of lives lost, reporting instead in newspapers about the necessity of the expedition. Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar, where he died in 1914 after surrendering himself in August 1897.
Almost immediately, the artworks circulated, with over 300 loaned to the British Museum. In 1936, Oba Akenzua II made the first formal request for restitution of the Bronzes to the British Museum, which complied with just three items. As of July 2025, the British Museum still refuses to return these artefacts to their rightful home, with about 928 works currently in their possession. The Museum insists that, per the British Museum Act of 1963, it is restricted from handling over these artefacts, and maintains the existence of a partnership with the NCMM, the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and Wessex Archaeology in Benin City “to help train a new generation of Nigerian archaeologists and develop a blueprint for best practice in preconstruction archaeology in Nigeria,” according to a The Voice report.
This is where MOWAA comes in. On 9 November, 2025, MOWAA held a preview event—a private showcase for donors, curators, partners, and global art stakeholders—ahead of its planned opening contemporary exhibition on 11 November, 2025, which was disrupted by thugs aligned with the State Government and the Oba’s Palace. The Museum, and its Benin Campus, by extension, was founded as a non-profit trust, in partnership with the British Museum, the Mellon Foundation, and the French and German governments, with an independent art council consisting of: Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, G.A.S. Foundation, Michael Armitage, Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI), Victor Ehikhamenor, Angels & Muse and Black Muse,Nengi Omuku, TAOH Africa, Dr. Odun Orimolade, YABATECH, Kaloki Nyamai Kamene Cultural and Research Center.
However, this arrangement didn’t go down well with His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, alongside the Monday Okpebholor-led Edo State Government, with the previous administration having contributed about ₦3.8 billion to MOWAA’s development. Oba Ewuare II issued a statement that the Museum should be recognised as the ‘Benin Royal Museum,’ instead, insisting that the project had initially been conceived under the Palace’s authority, and also that the artefacts were to be returned to hims, rather than sidelining the kingdom’s legacy.
In their next-day response, MOWAA clarified that they had never laid claim to the Benin Bronzes and had none of the artefacts on display. They also clarified that the Museum was unrelated to the proposed ‘Benin Royal Museum,’ and never presented itself as such for funding reasons. In a 17 February 2026 statement, MOWAA reaffirmed their commitment to finding a common ground with the state and national authorities. They have announced a slate of activities that include: the March to May 2026 Listening Sessions combining “in-person workshops and conversations with accessible online engagement,” which began with an appearance at the +234 Art Fair; the Unearth Fellowship in Archaeology with 16 graduates; a collaboration with the Arcadia-funded Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments project (MAESaM); DRUM Magazine West-Africa archive with the Bailey African History Archives; and “an ongoing collaboration with the National Gallery of Art (Nigeria) to conserve up to thirty seminal works by modernist artists, including Ben Enwonwu, Erabhor Emokpae, Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu, and Bruce Onobrakpeya. MOWAA’s priority, which should be everyone’s priority, is promoting art and culture—a path they’ve stayed on even in the heat of the accusations.
As such, with the current wave of restitutions, it is more important than ever that the controversy surrounding MOWAA— still scheduled for completion in 2028—be resolved as soon as possible. While a select number of Nigerian museums are equipped to house the Bronzes, Edo State as home is indisputable, and as such, having a world-class facility in the state to exhibit these works should be of concern to all stakeholders. This is not to say that the Palace shouldn’t be the primary port of call for the artefacts. However, in view of the existing relationships MOWAA has, especially with an imperial institution like the British Museum that’s hell bent on holding on to stolen culture, whatever mechanisms can better facilitate immediate and efficient return of the remaining Bronzes should be embraced. Gov. Okpebholo’s call to avoid politicising the issue is itself a form of politicisation, one that further stokes tensions over a resolution.
Additionally, this is an incentive for the NCMM to push for further restitution of the Bronzes, especially those that pass through institutions like Sotheby’s. As of this article, one can still see a listing for a Bronze Head of an Oba, estimated between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, with bidding already closed. Cultural artefacts of this nature have no place at auctions, merely carted around as amusements for millionaire whims. Now is far from the time for further disputes, especially with the compliance by select European countries keen on restitution. With Nigeria in need of as many expertly coordinated injections into the cultural and creative economy, it’s a no-brainer to prioritise partnership and collaboration over a sense of vengeance for perceived political grievances.
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