Mexico returns Yoruba archeological piece to Nigeria

gave back the Federal Republic of Nigeria a bronze sculpture from the Yoruba people that was seized in Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport.

The operation detected the archeological piece that pretended to be delivered via mail but once it was authenticated, authorities began the process to restitute the cultural heritage from the Yoruba people.

The deputy secretary of Foreign Affairs, Julián Ventura , and the ambassador of Nigeria in Mexico , Aminu Iyawa , were who led the ceremony where the cultural heritage piece was delivered stressing that nations are multiethnic and plurilingual , which motivates the fight against archeological looting .

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“We are against the illegal commercialization of archeological pieces, an important cause of the cultural heritage impoverishment of the countries of origin for it undermines the integrity of cultures and, hence, of humanity ,” asserted Ventura .

Iyawa

acknowledged a sign of friendship and action that joins the recovery of cultural heritage once it was looted from its country of origin.

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For their part, INAH’s general director, Diego Prieto Hernández , and Alejandro Celorio Alcántara , legal advisor of the Foreign Affairs Ministry , expressed that now, it is more frequent to join efforts with different governments – especially with academic and research institutions – to achieve these goals.

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