FORTY-four stolen artworks have been returned to Nigeria from a gallery in Zurich, Switzerland, under a drive by the new government to recover missing pieces. The artworks were flown into Nigeria on May 30 by the Galerie Walu of Zurich and handed over to officials of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The haul included 19 Benin bronzes, 10 Ife terracotta objects, Nok terracottas, carved Yoruba figures, Igbo artworks and Esie stones. A three-man delegation of the commission, led by director general Omotosho Eluyemi, travelled to Europe in late April seeking the recovery of missing objects believed to be in collections in Zurich, Paris, the Hague and London. The artefacts are now being inspected and documented at the National Museum in Lagos. – AFP