Matters Arising from the British Expedition, Massacre of the Binis and Plunder of Benin Art Works in 1897 Dele
Igbinedion, Solicitor ( During
the administration of Governor Odigie-Oyegun as Governor of Edo State, I
was the Chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Finance, Commerce
and Industry. Consequently,
the State Board, which had responsibility for the promotion of Tourism,
came under the oversight function of my Committee’s. During a
familiarisation tour organised for the members of the Committee, we
visited the grave of Captain Philips, the Briton who led the 1897
expedition against A
BACKWARD GLANCE AT HISTORY
About
one hundred and six years ago that British Military Forces invaded HISTORICAL
DOCUMENTS Historical
documents have since revealed that a great wrong was done to the Oba and
the entire This
is evident from a letter that Captain Philips wrote to the British
Foreign Office, where, while seeking authorisation to embark on an
undertaking against the fiercely independent Oba Ovonramen, he wrote:
“The
whole of the English merchants represented on the river have petitioned
the government for aid to enable them to keep their factories (trading
posts) open, and last but not least, the revenues of this Protectorate
are suffering ... I am certain that there is only one remedy. That is
to depose the King of Benin ... I am convinced that pacific measures are
now quite useless, and that the time has now come to remove the
obstruction ... I do not anticipate any serious resistance from the
people of the country - there is every reason to believe that they would
be glad to get rid of their King - but in order to obviate any danger, I
wish to take up sufficient armed force ... I would add that I have
reason to hope that sufficient ivory may be found in the King's house to
pay the expenses incurred”. This
establishes three facts: that English merchants needed greater access to
trading, Captain Philips decided that the deposition of the Oba of Benin
was a sine qua non for the achievement of that goal and that the
Oba’s ivory will be plundered and sold to pay for the dubious
“favour” about to be done to him and his people, which latter part
seems to have been part of British official policy. It is now known that
the death of the seven Britons was merely a ruse to achieve a
subterranean agenda. According
to plan therefore, after the defeat of the brave FOREIGN
OFFICE COMPLICITY: While
a lot of the artworks were sold to defray the cost of the expedition,
the British Foreign Office gave the British museum large quantities of
the artworks. While
many are displayed in the ethnographic section of the museum, the
premier collection of these priceless Enormous
profits have since been made on these items by the Museum. For example,
in 1984, Sothebys, a British auction house, auctioned a Till
date, the However,
none of this profit has ever been paid to THE
INEFFECTIVENESS OF DIPLOMACY One
hundred and six years after the horrific incident, justice still eludes
our people; the artworks are firmly in the hands of the LAW
VERSUS DIPLOMACY As
diplomacy has failed, a lawsuit can offer many advantages: ·
It
will force all the defendants to confront the issues and where possible,
explore an acceptable resolution within the predictable time frame that
a Court will determine in exercise of its case management powers. ·
The
parties will be under a duty to disclose all documents relating to the
matter. This requirement can be used as part of the pre-action
investigation even before the suit. This will give access to documents
that potential defendants might otherwise wish to keep private including
financial accounts of all monies realised as proceeds of the use to
which the artworks have been put. ·
A
lawsuit will bring the issue into the public domain, re-ignite general
debate and achieve an embarrassing re-examination of the history of the
British military action in ·
While
the case lasts, access to the artworks will be given to ·
Compensation
claims can be presented and vigorously argued in a court case, unlike a
diplomatic forum where the demands of decorum often obfuscate real legal
issues under political considerations.
·
Anyone
who has any artwork that demonstrably originated from the 1897 incident
will be put on notice to appear and defend the suit or be bound by the
outcome. These could include thieving private collectors, and other
museums. LEGAL
ISSUES In
the context of ·
Who
owned the artworks prior to February 1897? ·
If
the above is positively resolved in favour of the Binis, whether they
transferred ownership of the properties to the British at any time
and/or whether the mere act of plundering goods in wartime without more
can have the effect transferring ownership of property to plunderers. ·
Whether
the passage of time conferred any property rights on Museums in ·
Whether
extant ·
Whether
the artworks were, are or can ever become the property of the Museums or
the government of the ·
Whether,
having regard to the provisions of the aforesaid Human Rights Act, the
action of the Trustees of the Museum and the British Government does not
amount to depriving or continuing to deprive the Oba of Benin and the
entire THE
LAW The
law relating to the above issues are: *
LACK
OF CONSENT VITIATES PURPORTED ACQUISITION OF
PROPERTY Consent
is a pre-requisite for the effective transfer of rights over property.
This was the law before 1897 and it is still the law today. Lack of it
vitiated any purported acquisition of the artworks, and, if the original
donors or sellers lack title, then the obtainers will also lack title.
*
PASSAGE OF TIME One
hundred and six years have passed since the plunder took place. However,
this cannot defeat an action. Under
international law, mere passage of time does not defeat the claims of
anyone dispossessed of property. It is of greater significance that, in
this case, the deprivation is continuous since the items remain in the
custody of the Museums. This act arguably has the effect of sustaining
the cause of action eternally. In
relation to the law of torts, a person from whom a chattel is stolen can
sue the obtainer or anyone who subsequently converts the chattels before
he recovers possession without limit of time. *
DEPRIVATION OF
RIGHT TO PROPERTY The
Human Rights Act, which became operative in the The
continued detention of the artworks by the Museum and government of the *
INCOMPATIBILITY
OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM ACT WITH THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT The
Trustees of the *
CLAIM FOR
WRONGFUL INTERFERENCE TO PROPERTY Any
dealing with property in a manner inconsistent with the rights of the
true owner amounts to the tort of wrongful interference. Where said
properties can be found, a court can direct its return to the rightful
owner. The cases of these artworks fall clearly into this category. The
Oba can recover all such damages as are the natural and direct result of
the act, including damages for non-pecuniary interests, such as
inconvenience, and distress at being deprived of the property.
In
addition, the aforesaid Human Rights Act provides for the payment of
financial compensation, among other remedies, to victims and/or
survivors of human rights violations. Claims can be maintained against
direct perpetrators and persons who aided them. Victims can further
obtain redress in circumstances where a defendant has obtained money
unconscionably. *
COMPENSATION
UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW The
right to reparation is well recognised in international law. In the "The
essential principle contained in the actual notion of an illegal act - a
principle which seems to be established by international practice and in
particular by the decisions of arbitral tribunals - is that reparation
must, as far as possible, wipe out all the consequences of the illegal
act and re-establish the situation which would, in all probability, have
existed if that act had not been committed. Restitution in kind or, if
this is not possible, payment of a sum corresponding to the value which
a restitution in kind would bear; the award, if need be, of damages for
loss sustained which would not be covered by restitution in kind or
payment in place of it - such are the principles which should serve to
determine the amount of compensation due for an act contrary to
international law." OBJECTIVES The
objectives of my proposed action, among other things, will be to seek: ·
An
inventory of the Benin artworks presently held in the British Museum in
order to determine their number and present financial value by a
competent art expert. ·
The
return of the artworks or alternatively that they be held in trust for
Your Majesty and people of ·
An
account of all profits made by the Museums from the artworks from the
date of they came into their possession. ·
Redress
for gross human rights violations. ·
A
Court Order for the creation of a Historical Commission to Study and
Issue a Report related to the true circumstances of 1897 massacre of the
Binis. ·
A
formal apology from the British government for the atrocities of its
military forces. CONCLUSION:
The
law helped the German Jews and their survivors when they sought to
recover compensation from the German government for Nazi atrocities and
recovery of money that from Swiss Banks. After a dogged fight by their
Lawyers, they recovered financial compensation and an apology from the
German Government and the Banks. By
the same token, I believe that the |