The unusual move follows years of negotiations between the museum, the collector and the Kingdom of Benin

It is the latest example of a country announcing that it will repatriate a group of these objects, which were looted by the British as part of a punitive expedition in 1897

Political turmoil across the continent is hampering plans for national structures to return colonial-era heritage. But the UK, once a laggard, appears to be preparing to review laws

A New York-based organisation had sought to block the artefacts’ return to Nigeria

The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has defended its decision to hand back two objects to the Oba rather than the government

Many believe new applications—from AI and NFTs to 3D scanning—are game changing in returning objects to source communities. Lawyers say they can make the process harder

Government official says new claim will be made for Benin Bronzes housed in London

The lawyer and activist may play a key role in negotiating the return of Benin bronzes

The monarch will likely face calls for the return of priceless objects that were seized by British military forces during 19th-century operations

Phillip Ihenacho, the director of the Edo Museum of West African Art in Nigeria, calls for a new focus, based on realities on the ground rather than romantic notions of the West

The far-right Alternative for Germany party called for the debate after the oba of Benin was named owner of the returning artefacts, causing confusion

Sonita Alleyne was appointed Master of Jesus College in 2019—the year the institution announced the UK's first repatriation of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

The move may complicate plans to house the works in future museums such as the Edo Museum of West African Art

Scholar discusses restitution issue, saying that "no culture has an absolute view on looking at the world"

Doubts surface in media over Nigeria’s museum infrastructure

Formal requirement for government licences may well prove to be yet another obstacle to a loan agreement for the Parthenon Marbles

Many of the works investigated show a direct link to the violent 1897 raid by British forces, and may lead to the transfer of objects to Nigeria

The agreement—signed by the two countries in July—involves the return of 1,100 objects in total

The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum is the latest Western institution to return its collection of artefacts looted from Nigeria in the late-19th century

Restitution Study Group have lost their first legal battle but insist the case is still pending

"Digital Benin" catalogue gathers together information on objects stolen from the Kingdom of Benin and now held in collections around the world

The National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum marked the return of the sculptures with a ceremony in Washington, DC

Twenty years since its conception and at a cost of around €680m, the new German museum must now follow through on its restitution promises

Major restitution development coincides with publication of new Arts Council England guidelines

More than 1,100 looted items will be transferred though some artefacts will remain on loan to German museums

The new policy, adopted by all Smithsonian museums on 29 April, will allow each institution to tailor it to their particular collections and provenance considerations

Stolen artefacts will be given back to Nigeria, India and a Native American tribe

Restitution agreement must still be approved by the museum's Board of Regents

Victor Ehikhamenor's towering work has been placed beside the building's memorial to the man who led the plunder of the Benin bronzes in 1897

The full story of colonial plundering lies not in museum displays but in unopened, uncatalogued boxes in store rooms