Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has received 119 stolen artefacts from the Netherlands, saying plans by some international cartel to re-loot the artefacts were thwarted after he prayed to God and his ancestors.

The monarch spoke in Benin when he received the artifacts from the Federal Government delegation led by Olugbile Holloway, Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

He said: “I thank President Bola Tinubu for supporting and committing to the efforts former President Buhari put in place to ensure the artifacts are not re-looted because there were groups in this country believed to be an international cartel that had all sorts of conspiracy to re-loot our artifacts.

“The return of these objects has reawakened the courage we had in our people. We do not want modern day politics, we do not want partisan politics to diminish the courage of our people.”

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He continued: “The Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments has been doing wonderful work. His predecessor was part of the conspiracy to re-loot our artifacts. We had a running battle in this hall. I addressed my Chiefs in Benin language and I said these artifacts belong to my ancestors and I will not sit on the ancient throne and watch the artifacts re-looted. They rather remain where they are than being re-looted.”

The Oba, while thanking the government of the Netherlands for working with the palace, said: “This is part of the efforts to reawaken the morale and spirit of my people.”

The Benin Monarch further prayed with his official spectre directing the artefacts to return more artefacts.

Earlier, the NCMM DG, Holloway, said the commission and the Benin Royal Palace were working hard to ensure more artefacts were returned.

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Governor Monday Okpebholo who was represented by the Secretary to State Government, Barr. Musa Ikhilor, said his administration would continue to build necessary infrastructure to preserve the returned artefacts as well as collaborate with the federal government to improve the storage system for the artefacts.

He said: “They are treasured monuments and treasured sacred objects. You can see the way they came. They are fragile and precious. We will continue to collaborate to see that a sage space is created.

“We are supporting the palace to see that a befitting museum is put in place to display these objects for tourists as a way of boosting the tourism sector.”

On his part, General Director of Wereld Musuem, Marieke Van Bommel, said: “The artefacts were looted and we have a policy in the Netherlands to bring them back.

“We are bringing back 119 artefacts. We don’t have more. These are the collections in the Netherlands. There are more collections in Europe but that is not up to us. They have been with us for over 100 years.”

Ben Murray Bruce, the founder of the Silverbird Group, has predicted that World War III is inevitable due to the rise in violence, nuclear weapons and the increasing presence of ‘trigger-happy’ leaders in the world.

Murray-Bruce, in an interview with a Global Affairs Expert, Dane Waters, on Tuesday, said the war would devastate most parts of the world.

He, however, maintained that Africa, particularly Nigeria, would be safe from the devastation.

He said Nigeria’s lack of nuclear aspirations and peaceful diplomatic posture would shield the continent from the fallout of the conflict.

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He said, “We’re in big trouble, and as long as we have the kind of leaders we have in the world today, I see World War Three coming, and it’s going to be terrible.

“The beauty of World War III is that it’s not going to affect Africa. Africa will be spared. You guys are going to fight all across the world, but we are going to be safe in Nigeria.

“Nobody is going to be fighting in Nigeria because we have no territorial ambitions, we have no desire to acquire nuclear weapons, we don’t want to fight anybody, we’re friends with all our West African neighbours.”

According to Murray-Bruce, Nigeria would be in a position to welcome displaced populations from the West.

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He said, “There’s going to be a World War III, the rest of the world will be destroyed, and we’ll be happy to welcome Americans, Israelis and Iranians to Nigeria.

“And we’ll make sure you all have your visas to come here because we don’t want you to come as immigrants and we don’t want to treat you very badly when you come here but we’re going to treat you well when you come visit us in Nigeria.”

The former lawmaker, who represented Bayelsa East Senatorial District, declared that the world is in trouble because of many ‘crazy people in leadership positions across the world.

“I think we are in trouble. I think there’s too much violence in the world today. I think access to weapons is easy. I think we have a lot of trigger-happy leaders across the world, and because they are trigger-happy, they don’t care.

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“We have a lot of despots and crazy people. So, war is inevitable. It goes back to 1945, 1939, and 1917. First world war, second world war, Korean war, Vietnam war.

“I think there are many crazy people in the world and as long as we elect crazy people into leadership positions, this is what we’re going to have because it’s the leaders that cause the war not the people.”

Murray-Bruce’s comments come amid the growing conflict between Iran and Israel.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting at Maitama, has granted bail to the suspended Senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to the tune of N50million.

The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Chizoba Orji, rejected application the Federal Government made for the defendant who was arraigned on a three-count charge, to be remanded in prison custody pending the determination of the case against her.

Justice Orji held that she found no reason to deny the defendant bail, saying there was sufficient evidence that she is willing to face her trial.

Consequently, aside from the N50m, the court held that the defendant must produce one surety who must be a person of integrity that owns a landed property in Abuja.

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The court based its decision on section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as section 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

The case was subsequently adjourned till September 23 for trial.

FG is prosecuting the lawmaker for allegedly making a false claim that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former Governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, were behind plot to assassinate her.

In the charge marked: CR/297/25, FG alleged that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was listed as the sole defendant, made the false and defamatory remarks when she appeared as guest on live television.

It specifically accused her of making “imputation, knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person.”

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According to the charge, by making such false imputation that tarnished the image of others, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, committed an offence under
391 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.

It added that the alleged offence is punishable under section 392 of the same law.

Giving particulars of the offence in count-one of the charge, FG, told the court that the defendant committed the alleged crime on April 3, during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Among those listed as witnesses in the matter, included the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and a former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who were cited as nominal complainants.

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Other witnesses billed to testify in the case are two police officers that investigated the matter, Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba; a Senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong and one Sandra Duru.

The charge, dated May 16, came on the heels of a letter Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote to the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, wherein she accused police of exhibiting bias in the investigation of her petitions against the Senate President.

It will be recalled that the Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed June 27 to determine the legality or otherwise of the six-month suspension that was slammed on the defendant by the Senate.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan approached the court after she was summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee following a faceoff she had with the Senate President during plenary on February 20.

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While protesting alleged arbitrary change of her seating position, she repeatedly raised a point of order to be allowed to speak, even though she had been overruled by the Senate President.

Irked by her conduct, the Senate President referred her case to the Ethics Committee.

In a television interview she granted on February 28, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her travails in the Senate began after she rejected unwanted advances from the Senate President, Akpabio.

In an ex-parte application she brought before the court, she applied for an order to declare any action the Senate Committee took within the pendency of her suit, including her suspension, as, “null, void, and of no effect.”