Germany, Nigeria to sign accord on returning Benin Bronzes

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is set to sign an agreement in Nigeria that paves the way for the return of important sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa in the late 19th century. The agreement will be signed Friday. Governments and museums in Europe and North America have increasingly sought to resolve ownership disputes over objects that were looted during colonial times. A British colonial expedition stole the bas-relief Bronzes along with a vast number of other treasures from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897.  The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation said it expects to keep some of the Bronzes on loan from Nigeria. Many of the objects remain in the British Museum, which has resisted calls to return them.