Benin bronze returned to Nigeria

Returning Nigeria’s stolen art - 22nd October 2021

A bronze cockerel, taken in a British raid on what is now Nigeria, has been handed back to the representatives of Nigeria by a Cambridge University college.

The statue, known as the "Okukur", was stolen by British colonial forces in 1897. It was given to Jesus College, Cambridge in 1905 by a student's father.

Now a ceremony has been held at the college to sign the handover documents. "It's massively significant," said Sonita Alleyne, master of Jesus College. "It's a momentous occasion." She said returning the piece was the "right thing to do" and that the bronze sculpture was of "cultural and spiritual significance to the people of Nigeria. It's part of their ancestral heritage."

The Okukur will be housed in Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The Nigerian delegation will decide the timing and details of bringing the artwork home.

About 10,000 works of art were looted after Benin City was occupied by British imperial troops in 1897. Many of those artworks are still housed in museums and collections around the world, including around 900 in the British Museum.

The Benin bronze cockerel had sat in the Jesus College dining hall until it was removed from display in 2016. In 2019, the college became the first institution in the world to announce its decision to return a Benin bronze. This followed the college's Legacy of Slavery Working Party concluding that the cockerel "belongs with the current Oba at the Court of Benin".

His Royal Majesty, Oba of Benin thanked the college for returning the bronze, adding "we truly hope that others will expedite the return of our artworks which in many cases are of religious importance to us."