Author(s): KATE ANDREW NWOSI, PHD & OGHENERO EGWORAOBOR, ESQ | Vol. 22 (1) April, 2025
Abstract
This article, ‘The human rights perspectiveto the return of cultural heritages: the Benin bronzes’ stems from the ‘punitive expedition’ in 1897 by the British government in the Benin Kingdom in modern-day Edo State of Nigeria. This punitive expedition was immediately followed by the wanton destruction of the Benin kingdom and looting of her arts, religious symbols, spiritual artworks, shrines/gods and cultural heritages which were subsequently sold in Europe America and to the rest of the World. The punitive expedition paved the way for the effortless taking and looting of the famous cultural relics and artefacts of the kingdom today referred to as the Benin bronzes. This paper is focused on a brief and cursory journey into the Benin kingdom in Nigeria, examining the circumstances that led to the 1897 expedition and sacking of the kingdom. This paper aims to establish the human rights perspectives on the return of these precious cultural heritages and analyse the legal regime in place in Nigeria to protect the objects upon return. Findings reveal amongst others that the Presidential Gazette domiciled the ownership of the objects and their custody thereof in the Oba of Benin. A move which settled albeit temporarily who owns the objects in the face of conflicting arguments on ownership, that the objects termed Benin Bronzes are not mere objects for museum displays but a cultural heritage of a people, that the premeditated takingsamount to human rights violation. This paper adopted the doctrinal method of research and examined the human rights perspective on the return of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. It is believed that the human rights perspective will contribute to a more inclusive approach towards restitution and return of the cultural objects, particularly, the Benin Bronzes while addressing the conflict between the competing cultural nationalism and the role of the affected communities.
Keywords: Human Rights Perspectives, Return of cultural heritages, Benin bronzes.