The artifacts were stolen by British soldiers in the late 19th century and eventually made their way to a Dutch collection.

The Netherlands says it will return more than 100 Benin Bronzes that British troops looted from Nigeria in the late 19th Century and which ended up in a Dutch museum. Thousands of these culturally significant sculptures and carvings were stolen during the violent destruction of Benin City, in modern-day Nigeria's Edo state, in 1897.

The Netherlands will return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria which the country took during colonial times. View on euronews

The Netherlands has agreed to return a collection of 119 artifacts to Nigeria, the latest objects to be sent back to their homelands as museums grapple with their colonial-era holdings.

Over 100 precious Benin Bronzes have been returned to Nigeria from a Dutch museum in a landmark repatriation agreement.

It’s been described as the single largest return to date of the famous Benin antiquities looted by the British military.

Following the request by the Nigerian Government, The Netherlands has agreed to return 119 stolen Benin Bronzes during the 1897 British punitive expedition

The Netherlands says it is returning 119 Benin bronzes looted during the British attack on Benin City in 1897 to Nigeria.

The Netherlands says it will return more than 100 artifacts looted from the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southern Nigeria, more than a century ago. The Benin Bronzes, plaques and sculptures of metal and ivory that decorated the kingdom's royal palace,

In recent years, about 1,100 objects from German, Scottish, British, and French museums have been returned amid pressure over colonial-era acquisitions.