Switzerland returns 23 pieces, 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Switzerland has returned 23 cultural artifacts to Nigeria, including 18 looted Benin Bronzes, during a formal ceremony in Lagos. The handover, which took place on Monday, June 29, 2026, marks a significant step in Nigeria's ongoing campaign to reclaim its cultural heritage.

The repatriated items consist of 18 Benin Bronzes voluntarily returned by three Swiss museums and five additional objects-a bronze bracelet and four monoliths from the Niger Delta-that were confiscated by Swiss authorities during separate criminal proceedings. The artifacts were officially received by Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments at the National Museum in Lagos.

The restitution follows years of provenance research conducted under the Benin Initiative Switzerland, which confirmed the objects were looted during the British military invasion of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897. The 18 bronzes were held by the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, which returned 14 items; the Museum Rietberg in Zurich; and the Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève, each of which returned two.

During the ceremony, Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Nigeria's Minister of Art, Culture,...