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Looted Benin Artifacts Worth £2.5m Returned To Oba Of Benin

Published

4 years ago

February 19, 2022

Looted Benin artifacts worth £2.5m at present market value were on Friday handed over to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, by the Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Tunji Ishola, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.

No fewer than 10,000 artifacts were said to have Been looted from the Benin kingdom in 1879 and scattered across different parts of the world.

The returned artifacts, comprising a Cockerel and an Oba Head were repatriated from Cambridge University, Jesus College and University of Aberdeen, Scotland respectively.

Formerly receiving the artifacts, Oba in Benin, Oba Ewuare II, whose speech was delivered by Prince Aghatise Erediawa, said the bronzes transend mere art, but “mostly of religious significance to us and these two bronzes will return to where they rightly belong.

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for taking keen interest in the repatriation of the bronze, the Benin Monarch appealed to those who are “genuinely interested in the cause should join us in the interest of peace, tranquility and the substance of our cultural heritage.”

Also speaking at the colorful former handing over, which took place at the Oba’s Palace, Benin, Mr. Ishola said he was directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to formerly and directly hand over the artifacts to the Oba, emphasizing that the artifacts all together value at £2.5m.

“I am given just one assignment to do here by President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, and the assignment is very simple. To directly hand over the artifacts to the Oba of great Benin Kingdom. This is the Presidential directive.

“I want to thank British Government for preserving the artifacts to still be in the same form they were when they were taken in 1897. Not only that, value has added to these artifacts. As at today, the Cockerel is value at £2m at Great Britain and it is brought back here. Oba Head also value at £500,000 at Great Britain, and it is also brought back here. We are still working to make sure many of them come back home,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Director-General, National Commission for Mosuem and Monuments, Prof. Abba Tijjani said he was making efforts in his capacity as the DG to make sure artifacts, not only Benin’s but Nigeria are returned.

On the part of the Edo State government, Governor Godwin Obaseki, represented by the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Monday Osaigbovo, said that they should liaise with the Oba of Benin to ensure the return of other artifacts to the palace of the Oba of Benin.

Related Topics:#Oba of Benin Looted artifacts

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Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

28 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

31 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)