STORY: Return in Abuja. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock handed over 20 so-called Benin bronzes from Germany’s public museums to Nigeria on Tuesday. The appointment is the latest in a series of returns of artifacts stolen from Africa by Europeans during the colonial era. Germany had pledged to start returning them last year. At the beginning of the current year, the Federal Republic signed a declaration to this effect. This refers to all 1130 Benin bronzes in Germany. Actually they are relief sculptures with copper alloys. “It evokes a sense of loss that I can hardly imagine. But for you here in Nigeria, that loss has been a reality all your life. Today we are here to put the Benin Bronzes where they belong, namely to the people of Nigeria,” said Baerbock. Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama and Information Minister Lai Mohammed were present at the handover, as were German Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth and the heads of German museums. “All those who hold onto our cultural assets must understand that the time has come for repatriation. They must also understand that many of these cultural assets are not just works of art, but the true essence of who we are. These artifacts are not mere decorative items, but our culture and heritage. They belong here and nowhere else,” said Information Minister Mohammed.