Isaiah Ogundele, who demonstrated outside the Museum of London, Docklands for the objects' repatriation, failed to appear at his court hearing earlier this month

Defendant was charged with using “threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress” during incident in January

Academics challenge the provenance of the Edo plaque as well as two Igbo alusi figures that sold under estimate for €212,500

London institution was criticised for proclaiming that it "stands in solidarity with the Black community" while continuing to resist calls to restitute colonial-era loot

Controversial statue was dismantled and thrown into the harbour during a Black Lives Matter rally

When British troops plundered the Royal Palace of Benin in the 19th century, at least 3,000 objects were dispersed internationally. A new online database is bringing them together

Project is backed by the Ernst von Siemens art foundation, which seeks “a more factual focus to the discussions about restitution”

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery wants to work in tandem with the Benin Dialogue Group, which is made up of institutions that hold the majority of the pieces

Statue of a cockerel was looted by the British in 1897 from the Court of Benin

As debate grows over Europe's 19th-century cultural plunder of Africa, the key is to ensure meaningful access