Benin Group Faults Position of Igun-Igbesanwan-Owina Descendants on Custody of Looted Artefacts
A socio-cultural group, Benin Solidarity Movement (BSM) worldwide, has tackled the IgunIgbesamwan-Owina descendants on their position over the custody of the expected looted artefacts from the palace of the Ovbuoramwen N’Ogbasi, the Oba of Benin Kingdom in 1887.
The Igun-Igbesanwan-Owina Descendants Cultural Movement of Europe and America in an open letter to the federal government, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had demanded that the proposed return of the artefacts should not be taken to the palace of the Oba of Benin but to those who originally carved them.
The group’s position, which was contained in the letter titled: ‘Open Letter on the Return of Benin Court Arts Now Referred to as Benin Artefacts’, and endorsed by Erhauyi Isokponwu and Adolor Oviasu-Oreoghene, claimed that thousands of looted artefacts to be returned from Germany were looted from their ancestral shrines in their quarters at Igun,
Igbesamwan and Owina, located outside the ancient palace.
But the BSM in a statement signed by its President, Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, and Mrs. Esohe Adun, the group acting secretary, which was made available to journalists in Benin-city, Edo State, condemned the position of the Igun-Igbesanwan-Owina Descendants Cultural Movement of Europe and America, saying they lack the knowledge of Benin history.
According to BSM “Our attention has been drawn to a publication in some daily newspapers by a proxy group-Worldwide members of Igun-Igbesanwan-Owina Descendants Cultural Movement of Europe and America-over where the proposed looted Benin artefacts should be housed.
“Firstly, we want to know if the group is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and also to know the identities of the individuals that signed the publication so as to set the record straight for them to understand the history of the Benin Kingdom, which they seem not to be familiar with, according to their publication.”