Buhari Demands Return Of More Nigeria’s Artefacts From Abroad

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to nations, institutions and bodies, both private and public, to return Nigeria’s artefacts in their possession.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja, said the Nigerian leader made the appeal in the aftermath of the return of two important Nigerian artefacts from Britain.

The president welcomed the official handover, on Saturday, of the Okwukor and the Head of an Oba of Benin bronzes, to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II.

They were repatriated from the University of Cambridge and University of Aberdeen, respectively, in the United Kingdom, after 125 years of their leaving the territory of present day Nigeria.

While urging other countries to take a cue from the institutions, the president vowed that the Federal Government would pursue the repatriation of Nigerian artefacts vigorously.

He thanked the Government of the United Kingdom that facilitated the return of these artefacts by issuing the prerequisite Export Permits to Nigeria at no cost, as well as the University of Cambridge and the University of Aberdeen who agreed to return these artefacts to Nigeria.

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