By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters). A Cambridge University college will transfer to Nigeria on Wednesday a stolen sculpture taken by British troops 1897. It will be a precedent for other institutions that want to return the artifacts.

A cockerel sculpture was among hundreds of Benin Bronzes taken from what is now Nigeria’s once powerful Kingdom of Benin. They’re among Africa’s most important cultural artifacts, and Nigerian authorities are calling for their return for many years.

Sonita Alleyne (Master of Jesus College at Cambridge), stated that “this is the right thing” in respect of the artifact’s unique history and heritage. She made the statement before a ceremony where the cockerel would be handed over to a Nigerian delegation.

The handover was described by the college as “the initial institutional return of its nature”.

Germany agreed to return Benin Bronzes from its museums by next year. However, the British Museum, London which has the most important and largest collection, did not make such a commitment.

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture said that Jesus College was a pioneer and that they look forward for a similar return to their artifacts by any other institution.

The cockerel, which had been stolen by its owner, was then given to Jesus College by the father of one student in 1905. It was announced by the college in 2019 that it would be returning it to Nigeria.

A variety of British institutions are currently dealing with colonial cultural legacies, especially the question of disputed heritage.

In a Benin Dialogue Group, Nigerian authorities and the British Museum are part of an initiative to build a new museum that will house returned bronzes in Benin City.

While the British Museum speaks about sharing and displaying items in Nigeria from its collections, they have never stated ownership.