- Netherlands to return 119 Benin bronzes to Nigeria on June 21.
- This marks the largest single repatriation of the artefacts looted during the 1897 British raid on Benin City.
- The artefacts will later be transferred to the National Museum in Benin City, Edo State.
Netherlands is set to hand over 119 looted Benin bronzes to the Federal government of Nigeria this June.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Dutch embassy in Nigeria confirmed that the handover ceremony will take place on June 21 at the National Museum in Lagos.
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The artefacts will later be returned to the National Museum in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
The number of artefacts, which is believed to be the single largest to be returned to Nigeria were looted during the 1897 British raid on Benin City.
In February, the Dutch embassy in Nigeria said the artefacts should have never ended up in the Netherlands.
The ambassador-designate, Bengt van Loosdrech, said Nigeria had been clamouring for the return of the bronzes for over 50 years.
At the time, the embassy said the bronzes were expected to arrive in Nigeria later this year but did not specify when.
