The Federal Government and the United States of America have agreed to sign a bilateral agreement stopping illicit trafficking in cultural property and artefacts.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this in Washington DC after a closed door meeting with the U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State on Education and Culture, Mr Mathew Lussenhop.
Briefing the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the meeting, the minister said the agreement which would be signed in Nigeria soon, would expand cooperation between the two countries in the area of cultural property.
Specifically, the minister said the agreement would prevent stolen artefacts in Nigeria from getting into the U.S. to prevent the harrowing experiences passed through in retrieving looted Benin bronzes from Germany.
He said the agreement included capacity building for Nigerians and the country was the second in Africa to enter into it with the U.S. after Mali.