A square bronze pendant or ornament, one of the objects looted in 1897 and held by the Horniman museum. Horniman Museum and Gardens/Handout via Reuters
A London museum has pledged to return 72 artefacts, including 12 brass plaques known as Benin Bronzes, to the Nigerian government.
The bronzes are among thousands of objects looted by British troops when they attacked Benin in 1897.
The Horniman Museum, which was founded by a rich British tea trader just a year later, said it had agreed to return them after a request from Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) at the beginning of the year.
"The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired through force," said Eve Salomon, chair of the trustees of the Horniman Museum and Gardens in south London.
"External consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria."
Prof Abba Tijani, Director-General of the NCMM said: "We very much welcome this decision by the Trustees of the Horniman Museum and Gardens....we look forward to a productive discussion on loan agreements and collaborations between the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the Horniman."
See below, some of the objects that the Horniman Museum says was looted from Benin City by British soldiers in 1897 and will be returned to Nigeria's government
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The Horniman's decision makes it the latest in a growing list of institutions agreeing to return Benin Bronzes and other plundered artefacts.
The University of Aberdeen in Scotland was one of the first, returning a sculpture of an Oba (king) last year.
Last week the universities of Oxford and Cambridge agreed to hand back 213 bronzes, although the UK Charity Commission has still to make the final decision about transferring legal title. Germany handed back 1,100 bronzes in July, following a decision made in 2021.
After being taken by ransacking British troops, thousands of bronzes were given to Queen Victoria and ended up in museums and private collections around the world.
Globally, there are thought to be 160 museums holding bronzes.
The Benin Bronzes were cast from the sixteenth century onwards in brass and bronze by special craft guilds in the once mighty Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southwestern Nigeria. They are among Africa's most culturally significant artefacts.
The plates which adorned the palace of the Oba, provided a record of dynasties, diplomatic relations with other states, and cultural practices.
The recent decisions by British public institutions increase pressure on the British Museum, which holds 900 bronzes.
It has been asked for the return of Nigerian antiquities but so far not committed to returning any.
A statement on its website says it has "excellent long term relationships with Nigerian colleagues and institutions which allow it to engage in "sustained and open dialogues concerning the Benin collections."
It adds: "The Museum is also committed to thorough and open investigation of Benin collection histories, and engagement with wider contemporary dialogues within which these collections are positioned. This includes fully acknowledging and understanding the colonial history which provided the key context for the development of the Museum's Benin collections."