Church of England to return Benin Bronzes gifted to Archbishop in 1982
The Church owns two statues given to Archbishop Robert Runcie during an Easter visit to Nigeria
The two statues will be returned to Nigeria
The Church of England will repatriate Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, despite the artworks being gifted to a former Archbishop of Canterbury during a tour of the country just 40 years ago.
Following Black Lives Matter protests there have been renewed calls to return the sculptures created for royalty in the Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria, most of which were seized British forces in 1897.
The Church owns two statues given to Archbishop Robert Runcie during an Easter visit to Nigeria in 1982 by the University of Nigeria, and by political leader Prof Ambrose F. Alli on behalf of the nation's modern-day Benin region.