Implementing international conventions on the protection of cultural property in Nigeria: An exigent necessity

Abstract

The destruction looting and confiscation of cultural property during the World war II necessitated the adoption of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The illicit and illegal trafficking and import and export of stolen property also led to adoption of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property and subsequently the 1995UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural object's. Nigeria's cultural property through time has been and is still being destroyed, stolen, illegally trafficked imported and exported. Nigeria has acceded and ratified the three significant international conventions on the protection of cultural property but has done little in implementing their provisions. This paper highlighted the destruction, theft and illegal trafficking of Nigeria's cultural property. It examined three significant international conventions on protection of cultural property and Nigeria's non implementation of the conventions. It also considered the prospects of implementing the conventions as done in some jurisdictions. The paper concluded that Nigeria needs to implement salient provisions of the international conventions on protection property of cultural property.