Are thieves or fences allowed to determine the future of the loot after it has been returned? What may seem like a misguided approach in modern criminal law is being discussed in the context of the return of Benin bronzes to Nigeria. Some critics see neo-colonialist traits in this. After the first restitutions of the valuable art treasures by the federal government, a surprising transfer of ownership to the Oba of Benin provided new material for debate.
After decades of hesitation and several years of intense debate, Germany initially returned 20 of the valuable Benin bronzes to the African country at the end of 2022. More than 1,100 of the works from the palace of the former Kingdom of Benin, which today belongs to Nigeria, have so far been found in around 20 German museums. The objects, which are made of ivory and other materials in addition to bronze, mostly come from British looting in 1897. “The stuff is stolen,” said Berlin’s ex-Culture Senator Klaus Lederer (left). This means that the museum inventory would be stolen goods.
The Oba of Benin gets the property rights
In a statement published on March 23 by the Nigerian President, the Oba of Benin would retain ownership of the returned artefacts, regardless of where and when they were brought to Nigeria. He is considered the original owner and preserver of the culture, heritage and tradition of the people of the Kingdom of Benin.
The Oba ruled as king over the kingdom in what is now south-western Nigeria, which existed until 1897. Ewuare II is the acting Oba of Benin. Like his predecessors, the 69-year-old has been fighting for the bronze medals to be returned to Nigeria since his coronation around seven years ago. The pieces are said to be kept in the palace or other locations in Benin City. The bronzes may only be issued as loans, for example, with the permission of the Oba.
For the Swiss ethnologist Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin, this shows “how carelessly the agreement on the transfer of ownership between Germany and Nigeria was formulated”. The emeritus professor at the University of Göttingen wrote in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that public goods are becoming exclusive private property. “For German politics and the museum people who serve their goals, the return of the bronzes to “the Nigerian people” ends in a fiasco.”
Claims of ownership by the Oba come as no surprise
Matthias Goldmann, a legal expert on international law and colonialism, among other things, pointed out that the Oba had long been asserting property claims. “So what happened now is not entirely surprising,” Goldmann told dpa. The Oba claims ownership as the traditional leader of the group from which the items were originally stolen. “From the point of view of human rights and especially the rights of ethnic minorities, a transfer of ownership to him is therefore even obvious.”
In any case, after the events in Nigeria, the federal government does not see the point of restitution in question. “It remains correct to return looted art to the states that today represent the people and culture from which this art was once stolen,” said a spokesman for Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) of the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Together with the Federal Foreign Office, it should be clarified what the measure by the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari means. “We want to talk to the new Nigerian government as soon as it takes office.” An important basis for the negotiations is the responsibility of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments for the restitution process.
Autonomy of Nigeria in handling
The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, also emphasized Nigeria’s independence in dealing with the bronzes. The foundation also includes Berlin’s state museums, which have the largest inventory in Germany. The retransfer will not be questioned, he told the dpa. “It is based on the fact that it was a violent looting, and this context of injustice has always been undisputed.”
The government is “of course free to decide how to deal with these objects in the future, because returns are not subject to conditions”. He has no doubts that the works will be available to the public in a museum “and a third will be on display here in Berlin in the Humboldt Forum as a long-term loan”. Parzinger initially sees a “considerable” need for clarification within Nigeria.
In negotiations about restitution, the only question is whether a restitution is justified or not. “In the event of a return, however, no conditions can be imposed on the new owner,” emphasized the foundation president. Returns often triggered debates between state authorities and regional communities in the countries of origin. “These are important processes in which divergent interests have to be balanced.”
