British police have continued to hold on to a stolen Nigerian artefact as Nigerian officials and a Belgian antique dealer fail to reach an agreement on its return.
The Ife Head is a bronze cast head from the old Ife kingdom which is believed to be about 700 years old. There are only about 20 of them still in existence, the BBC reports.
According to a BBC report, a local Belgian antique dealer acquired the artefact on November 14, 2007, at an auction for confiscated art items organised by Belgian authorities.
He did not know at that time that the artefact was stolen from Nigeria, especially as it was sold by the Belgian government.
The antique dealer has refused to authorise the transfer of the bronze head back to Nigeria, insisting on being paid but Nigeria insists that she will not pay for what is originally hers.
According to the BBC, in 2019, a Nigerian delegation met the dealer in a cordial atmosphere.
“I told him he could be an international…
