During the British invasion, Nigeria’s ancient city of Benin had many of its artifacts plundered.

It must, however, be noted that the Nigerian government has made efforts over the years to recover some of these artefacts.

The government’s efforts will receive a boost after the grandson of a British soldier who took part in the looting of Benin City in the late 19th century announced that he would be returning items his grandfather stole.

Mark Walker, the grandson of Capt Herbert Walker – a British soldier who was part of the 1897 punitive expedition to Benin City in southern Nigeria where thousands of items were looted – has loaned the objects to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, which will display them before they are returned to the royal court of Benin.

Dan Hicks, a professor of archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum and its representative on the Benin Dialogue Group, said they were was pioneering a new model for restitution.