The Federal Government, yesterday, said the British authorities have taken care of its looted artefacts for so long and it is time the cultural and historical works of art were returned home.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this in London during a working visit to the British museum.
Speaking after a meeting with officials of the museum, Mohammed, who was taken round the gallery and strong room, thanked them for their passion and for taking care of the artefacts for so long.
The minister met with the Curator and Head of Africa Section, British Museum, Sam Nixon and Keeper of the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas in the museum, Lissan Bolton.
“Before now, they said we did not make a demand, but last October, almost nine months ago, we made a formal request for the return of the artefacts, especially the Benin bronzes for which we have not got any response.
“We made them understand that our quest and clamour is for the return of the Benin bronzes and all other artefacts that were stolen and looted to their origin.
“I said they should take a cue from Germany which was neither our coloniser nor the one that looted the artefacts but which has yielded to pressure and signed an agreement to return 1,130 Benin bronzes to us.
“We also made it clear to them that they cannot hide under legislation and no Act of Parliament will make what you have stolen to become yours,” he said.
Mohammed said he reminded the officials that universities of Aberdeen and Cambridge had respectively returned the looted artefacts in their custody. He added that all over the world, countries like France, Belgium, Germany were returning the artefacts in their countries while Canada had also promise to do so.
He said the officials who listened to him with rapt attention did not make any comment because the matter was beyond them.
Mohammed, however, said they would not rest until Britain do the right thing by returning what they looted from the country a century back.
The artefacts, mostly Benin bronzes, were looted by British soldiers when they occupied Benin city in 1887, while some were stolen by explorers.
Jesus College at the University of Cambridge was the first UK institution to restitute a Benin bronze to Nigeria, After 124 years, bronze cockerel, known as Okukor, that had been donated to the college by the father of a student in 1905 was returned to the country last year.