Memorial bust of king's mother Iyoba, Benin Kingdom, located in the Ethnological Museum, Berlin. In a major move, Germany says it expects to begin restituting its Benin bronzes to Nigeria next year. The decision was made after culture minister Monika Grütters called an emergency meeting today with German museum heads, state culture ministers, and members of the foreign office for an unprecedented discussion on how to handle the fate of the Benin bronzes, thousands of which are in several museum collections across the nation. The items were looted from Nigeria in the late 19th century. Within a day, the group had settled on a shared position: to begin restitution in 2022.