Cambridge University in the United Kingdom has transferred legal ownership of 116 Benin cultural objects to Nigeria, more than a century after they were taken during the 1897 British punitive expedition against the Benin Kingdom in present-day southern Nigeria.
The items, which include bronze works and other heritage pieces, were held by the university’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, a university city in England. The legal title has now been returned to Nigeria, even though the artifacts are still physically in Cambridge’s custody.
The change follows years of calls by Nigerian authorities and rising international pressure on Western museums and universities to return African cultural heritage acquired during colonial conquest.
Nigeria has maintained that the Benin objects are central to its history and identity, and that keeping them abroad continues the harm tied to their violent removal.
For now, the decision means Nigeria holds the legal rights and will decide what happens next, including whether the items will be physically repatriated and how they will be displayed or preserved.
The move adds to a broader shift in Europe, where institutions are increasingly reviewing older collections and the circumstances under which they were acquired.