No fewer than 7,000 artefacts plundered from the Benin Kingdom are expected to be repatriated by Germany to Nigeria not later than October, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.

The ministry’s permanent secretary Gabriel Aduda disclosed this at the inaugural Nigerian Cultural Show exhibiting Nigeria’s diverse cultural heritage, sites, and traditional festivals held at the Cultural Centre, Nigeria House, New York.

Mr Aduda also said the artefacts’ reparation would come with building an ultramodern museum in Edo and the training of curators.

He further said Nigeria had reached an advanced stage of discussions with Germany to return thousands of Benin artefacts to the country.

The official said the ministry had been at the forefront alongside relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to repatriate the artefacts.

“We are working with relevant MDAs, we have had several high-level meetings with the Republic of Germany, and we are at a stage where thousands of artworks are to be returned to Nigeria.

“There are over 7,000 different pieces of artefacts that the Republic of Germany wants to give back to Nigeria,’’ he said.

Mr Aduda added, “We have talked deep into this that the reparation is not only at giving back, but they are coming to put a modern-day museum in Edo state, and they are training 25 curators that will man the museum for sustainability.

“We have gone far, and we are thinking that this will be concluded in October this year.

“We are hoping it will be a window to reach out to other European countries to return to us what was taken from us years back.”

The permanent secretary commended the consulate general in New York for inaugurating a culture centre and library equipped with books, cultural artefacts, research materials, and historical documents on Nigeria for public use.

(NAN)