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Protesters targeted a new multi-million dollar museum in Nigeria and forced organisers to halt a preview event ahead of Tuesday’s planned opening.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They were angry that the museum was not called the Benin Royal Museum and was not under the control of the Oba, the area’s traditional king.<\/p>\n
With preservation and restoration facilities, Mowaa was in part conceived as a home for the Benin Bronzes – artefacts looted from there by British soldiers in the 19th Century. But a dispute over ownership has meant they are not at the museum.<\/p>\n
All guests were safely escorted to secure locations, according to a statement from the museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this situation may have caused,” Mowaa said.<\/p>\n A local resident in Edo state told the BBC the frustration stems from what many see as a hijacking of an Edo project.<\/p>\n “The Benin Oba, traditional rulers and the government of Edo are not happy about it,” the resident added.<\/p>\n