The planned return of 116 Benin artefacts to Nigeria by the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has been postponed over a gazette signed by President Muhammadu Buhari giving the Oba of Benin authority over the bronzes.
The University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology’s plan to return 116 stolen artefacts on 16 May to Nigeria has been stalled following the circulation of a presidential gazette signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on 28 March 2023. On Friday, 29 July 2022, Cambridge had announced that it was returning the artefacts following a formal claim by Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) headed by Abba Isa Tijani. The NCMM sent these claims on 07 January 2022, asking for all artefacts known or presumed to be taken during the 1897 Benin Expedition to be returned to Nigeria.
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