Ekumeku War: Nnewi Family Seeks Correct Labelling and Return of 1902 Silver Artefact

I am calling for the proper identification and return of an artefact I believe belonged to my grandfather, King Chief Oweze Omuagu of Idembia, Nnewi. My family’s account links the item to the Ekumeku resistance and says he was killed in February 1902. The Ekumeku War was a long resistance movement in Anioma and neighbouring Igbo communities against colonial forces, beginning in the 1880s and ending around 1914. It involved towns including Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, Onicha-Olona, Issele-Uku and Owa, with major British expeditions taking place in the early 1900s. I dispute the artefact’s reported classification as a Benin bronze taken in 1897. I believe its English hallmarks, including marks associated with sterling silver and Birmingham manufacture, indicate that it is a silver item dated 1902. I also hold a document said to identify Oweze Omuagu as a British Protected Person in Nnewi. I am asking the relevant museum and historians to independently examine the hallmarks, provenance records and colonial-era field reports. If verified, the item should be accurately labelled as a 1902 Nnewi artefact connected to the Ekumeku War and returned to the family.

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