Three Swiss museums have returned 18 bronze historical cultural treasures belonging to the Kingdom of Benin to the Nigerian government. The historical artefacts, which were handed over at an official ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, include bronze statues that adorned the royal palace, a relief plaque and a statuette of a mounted soldier. This first step, taken under the terms of the agreement reached in March 2026, is the result of joint work between the Swiss and Nigerian museum institutions since 2021. The two countries have signed an agreement on the protection of cultural heritage and are strengthening their cooperation to eliminate historical injustice.
14 of the returned cultural treasures were brought from the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich and the rest from the museums of Rietberg and Geneva. These historical specimens were taken during a military campaign by British troops in 1897 and sold to more than 130 museums in 20 countries around the world. A bronze bracelet and four archaeological monoliths, which were taken under the protection of the Swiss authorities as part of recent proven analyses, were also returned to the Nigerian side. Currently, Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments is planning to open a new international gallery in Benin City to house all the historical artifacts returned from Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the University of Cambridge in England.
