by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
January 6, 2026
The museum will return the items in an agreement with the Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
A Dutch museum will repatriate its portion of the Benin Bronzes to their rightful home in Nigeria.
According to Good News Network, the Museum Volkenkunde will return the 119 artifacts that initially belonged to the old Kingdom of Benin. The kingdom’s origins lie in modern-day Nigeria, not the modern nation of Benin, as the West African nation plans to accept the stolen items back into its rightful ownership.
The British took the famed bronze statues in the 19th century, and the British Museum still holds the majority of them. The hundreds of stolen artifacts became a major point in the issue of looted art, with the items spread across the Western art world. In 2022, Nigeria sent out formal requests to museums to return the stolen items.
Now, the Netherlands’ folk art museum has agreed to return its share of the items to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The commission made a statement about the “good example” set by the Dutch, while hoping that they would influence other nations to follow suit on repatriation.
“We thank the Netherlands for their cooperation and hope this will set a good example for other nations of the world in terms of repatriation of lost or looted antiquities,” Olugible Holloway, the commission’s director, said in a statement obtained by Euro News.
The Dutch culture and education minister also issued a statement about the importance of returning the Benin Bronzes. Calling them “indispensable” to Nigerian history and culture, the government official considered the repatriation an act of global responsibility.
“Cultural heritage is essential for telling and living the history of a country and a community,” Eppo Bruins, the Dutch culture and education minister, said. “The Benin Bronzes are indispensable to Nigeria. It is good that they are going back.”
In the U.S., some of the statues are currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution. However, following Nigeria’s public request, the museum entered a loan agreement to keep nine of these statues on display until the end of 2026.
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