Germany returns 21 Benin bronzes to Nigeria – amid frustration at Britain

Artifacts looted in 19th century by UK soldiers and sold on, with many more still held by the British Museum

Twenty-one precious artefacts that were looted by British soldiers from the former west African kingdom of Benin 125 years ago have been physically handed over by Germany to Nigeria amid laughter, tears, and some audible frustration with the ongoing silence of the country that first stole them.

The objects from the haul of treasures known as the Benin bronzes, including a brass head of an oba (king), a ceremonial ada and a throne depicting a coiled-up python, were taken from the sacked city during a British punitive expedition in 1897 and later sold to German museums in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne.