Two of Nigeria’s looted Benin bronzes returned to traditional palace

Colourful ceremony marks artefacts' homecoming more than a century after they were pillaged by British troops

Two Benin bronzes were returned on Saturday to a traditional palace in Nigeria, more than a century after they were pillaged by British troops, raising hopes that thousands more artefacts could finally be returned to their ancestral home.

The artefacts, mostly in Europe, were stolen by explorers and colonisers from the once-mighty Benin Kingdom, now south-western Nigeria, and are among Africa's most significant heritage objects. They were created as early as the 16th century onwards, according to the British Museum.