The Netherlands on Tuesday returned a Benin artefact to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, 129 years after the invasion of the Benin Kingdom.

The presentation took place at the Oba’s Palace in Benin City as part of activities marking the traditional ruler’s 10th coronation anniversary.

Lucky Imasue, chairman of the 10th Coronation Anniversary Committee and former deputy governor of Edo, said the Netherlands had begun returning artefacts taken from Benin following the 1897 invasion.

Mr Imasue said every Benin artefact belonged to the Oba of Benin, regardless of quantity, adding that more artefacts were expected to be returned. He said the consul general of the Netherlands, Frank Keurnorst, presented the artefact alongside Beatrice van Bormann, executive director of Museum De Fundatie, in the Netherlands.

He described the return on Tuesday as significant, coming exactly 10 years after Ewuare’s coronation and 129 years after many historical objects were looted from the Benin Kingdom.

Mr Imasue recalled that the artefacts documented the majesty of the Oba and life in the kingdom, describing them as historical records kept in the palace before the invasion.

“Efforts to recover the artefacts date back to previous Obas, but gained momentum under Ewuare, whose diplomatic experience as a former ambassador helped advance the campaign,” he said.

According to him, the federal government, through the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, recognises that the artefacts were taken from the oba’s palace and should be returned there.

(NAN)