Edo protesters storm brand new home for West African art

Protesters targeted a new multi-million dollar museum in Nigeria and forced organisers to halt a preview event ahead of Tuesday’s grand opening.

Videos showed a group insulting foreign guests and ordering them to leave after entering the grounds of the Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) in Benin City on Sunday.

The museum in Edo state was in part conceived as a home for the Benin Bronzes – artefacts looted from there by British soldiers in the 19th Century. The campus includes state-of-the art preservation and restoration facilities.

However, a bitter dispute over the control of the prized artworks has meant they are not at the museum, something that appeared to have angered the protesters.

All guests were safely escorted to secure locations, according to a statement from the museum.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this situation may have caused,” Mowaa said.

A local resident told the BBC the frustration stems from what many see as a hijacking of an Edo project.

“The Benin Oba [king], traditional rulers and the government of Edo are not happy about it,” the resident added.

“Edo” was initially in the museum’s name, but this was later dropped. Executive director Phillip Ihenacho told the BBC the backers wanted the institution to serve a wider purpose beyond Nigeria.

In its statement, Mowaa said the protest “appeared to stem from disputes between the previous and current state administrations”.

The museum emphasised it was an independent, non-profit organisation and, though a former state governor had backed the project, he had no interest in it “financial or otherwise”.

Mowaa has now cancelled all preview events leading up to the opening and advised visitors to avoid the campus until the situation is resolved.

“We are deeply grateful to all our guests – many of whom travelled long distances to be here – for their understanding, patience and resilience,” the statement said. “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.”