The repatriation is the latest in a series when the pressure increases on Western states and institutions to return objects that were taken away during colonial oppression.
Nigeria celebrated the return of the invaluable "Benin bronzes", sculptures from the 1500-1700s made of metal and ivory, with a ceremony at the national museum in Lagos.
Some of them were displayed in the museum's courtyard and will be included in the museum's permanent collection. The selection included, among other things, a carved elephant tusk and a small leopard.
These objects embody the spirit and identity of the people they were taken from, says Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria's national museum commission.
In the 19th century, British soldiers stole thousands of Benin bronzes in the then independent kingdom of Benin, in the southern part of present-day Nigeria. The sculptures were plundered from the royal palace and have since been found in museums and private collections in Europe and the USA.
The remaining sculptures, which will not be included in the museum's collection, will be returned to the traditional ruler "oba" in present-day Benin City.
According to Holloway, Germany has also agreed to return over 1,000 Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
