About 7,000 artefacts stolen from Benin Kingdom will be returned by German government to Nigeria latest October this year.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel Aduda, made this known while speaking at the Inaugural Nigerian Cultural Show, where Nigeria’s diverse cultural heritage, sites and traditional festivals were showcased.
At the event held at the Cultural Centre, Nigeria House, New York, Aduda also said the the German government has agreed to also build an ultramodern museum in Edo and the training of some curators.
BizWatch Nigeria had reported that Nigeria started a discussions with Germany to return thousands of different pieces of Benin Bronzes back to the country.
The Nigerian official said the ministry had been at the forefront alongside relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to facilitate the repatriation of thousands of Benin artefacts from the Republic of Germany.
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Aduda said, “We are working with relevant MDAs, we have had several high level meetings with the republic of Germany and we are at stage where thousands of art works are to be returned to Nigeria.
“There are over 7,000 different pieces of artefacts that Republic of Germany wants to give back to Nigeria,’’ he said.
“We have talked deep into this that the reparation is not only at giving back, but they are coming to put a modern day museum in Edo State and they are training 25 curators that will man the museum for sustainability.
“We have gone far and we are thinking that this will be concluded in October this year.”
