France has returned to Nigeria five ancient
terracotta sculptures smuggled out of the country in 2010.
The artifacts, of Nok origin, were found in the
luggage of French citizen at a Paris airport.
Their exact value has not been disclosed, but they
are believed to date back more than 3,000 years.
Nigeria's tourism minister told the BBC it was a
"big achievement" in the country's campaign to recover its lost
treasures from around the world.
"I feel extremely delighted," said Edem
Duke, who attended the ceremony to receive the sculptures from French embassy
officials in the capital, Abuja. Read more after the cut...
Over the last 85 years, Nok art has been discovered
in a large area of north-central Nigeria from Jos to Kaduna. Experts say Nok
art, which often represents human heads, is the earliest attempt at portraiture
yet discovered in Nigeria.
Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and
Monuments believes that items of Nok culture show it was the first society to
have used iron in sub-Saharan Africa. (BBC)
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