France returns sacred talking drum looted from Côte d’Ivoire over 100 years ago

Djidji Ayokwe was handed to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month

A sacred artefact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Cote d'Ivoire in one of the most significant cultural restitutions to a former French colony in years.

The Djidji Ayokwe, a talking drum confiscated in 1916 by French administrators, landed at 8.45am on Friday at the airport in Port Bouet on the outskirts of the economic capital, Abidjan. It was handed over to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Museum.