Protesters disrupt Nigeria museum opening amid dispute over looted Benin Bronzes

Protesters have disrupted a preview event at a new museum in Nigeria, which has become embroiled in a row over the restitution of artefacts looted by British colonial forces.

In a video circulating, demonstrators were seen loudly chanting: “Oba ghato kpere ise” ("Long live the king" in Bini language), while foreign and local visitors were escorted out of the Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) by security personnel in Benin City. Damage was reported to the museum’s reception pavilion and the exhibition area.

The museum’s director confirmed the incident, stating that protesters entered and began vandalizing part of the reception pavilion before storming the front section of the exhibition area. The museum subsequently apologized to guests for the inconvenience and advised against any further visits to the campus until further notice.

The Dispute Over the Benin Bronzes

Mowaa is a highly anticipated art campus comprising conservation labs, galleries, and studios aimed at fostering exchanges around West African art. It is located in what was once the capital of the ancient Benin empire. The museum, co-funded by French and German governments as well as private donors, was supposed to host several of the Benin Bronzes—artefacts looted by British soldiers during a punitive expedition in 1897 and scattered across European and American collections.

More than 150 original Bronzes have been returned to Nigeria over the last five years from European state museums and private collections as Western nations attempt to atone for their colonial past.

However, a rivalry between the local political administration and the museum means that none of the Bronzes will be on public display at Mowaa.

The current state administration is allied to Oba (King) Ewuare II, the spiritual and cultural leader of the Edo people. In March 2023, the nation’s federal government sided with the King, who has long posited that the artefacts should be housed at the Benin Palace since they were originally looted from there.

Although the immediate demands of the protesters at the museum were not entirely clear, their chants appeared to be strongly in support of the King and the current state administration.

In a statement, Mowaa distanced itself from the state government, emphasizing that it is an independent, nonprofit institution.

The nation’s culture minister condemned the incident, stating that the reported disruption not only endangers a treasured cultural asset but also threatens the peaceful environment necessary for cultural exchange and the preservation of artistic patrimony. The incident has drawn mixed reactions across the country, with some calling for a quick resolution as the nation seeks to consolidate its standing as a cultural superpower.