Swiss Museums Return Benin Artifacts to Nigeria, Some to Remain as Loans

On March 20, 2026, three Swiss museums formally transferred ownership of 28 Benin artifacts to Nigeria during a ceremony at Zurich's city hall. The restitution involved the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (11 objects), the Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich (14 objects), and the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (3 objects). Provenance research conducted through the Benin Initiative Switzerland (BIS) - a collaborative effort launched in 2021 involving eight Swiss institutions and Nigerian experts - determined that five objects were definitively looted during the 1897 British colonial raid on the Palace of Oba Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi in Benin, while 23 others likely entered collections through the same plunder. Nigerian representatives, led by Olugbile Holloway of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), accepted the artifacts on behalf of both the Nigerian government and the Benin royal palace. Holloway emphasized that the process addresses colonial injustices and described it as healing. Notably, some artifacts will remain in Switzerland as long-term loans: nine at Museum Rietberg (including two spiritually significant pieces returning physically to Nigeria - a carved elephant tusk and a commemorative head), one at the Geneva museum, while the Zurich ethnographic museum will retain none. The NCMM plans to display returned works across multiple Nigerian venues including a new Coronation Gallery in Benin City and the renovated Lagos Museum. Loan agreements will include clauses ensuring public display and Nigeria's right to recall objects.