THE German Government on Tuesday commenced the repatriation of 1,130 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
At a ceremony held in Abuja, German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, symbolically handed over 22 of the 1,130 looted artefacts to his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The event was witnessed by the German Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth; the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Anneth Gunter, and over 50 top officials from Germany.
Mohammed said the event would remain indelible in the history of mankind when Germany trailed the blaze in doing right to return the looted artefacts, adding that, “Twenty years ago, even 10 years ago, nobody could have anticipated these bronzes returning to Nigeria, because the obstacles to achieving repatriation were seemingly insurmountable.
“But today, with the pioneering gesture of a friendly nation, Germany, the story has changed.
He said that the Federal Government was embarking on infrastructural development around the National Museum in Benin City.
The minister called on other nations, institutions, museums and private collectors still holding on to Nigerian antiquities to release them.
https://punchng.com/germany-begins-return-of-1130-looted-benin-bronzes/
