London museum to return artefacts from Benin city

The Edo Museum of West African Art, due to open in 2025, is to receive 72 treasured artefacts from London’s Horniman Museum in what experts described as an “immensely significant” moment.

The collection includes 12 ancient brass plaques, known as Benin bronzes. The Horniman is the first UK-government-funded institution to hand back treasures looted by British forces from Benin city in 1897. About 10,000 objects stolen during the raid are held by museums and private collectors.