Stolen Benin bronze cockerel

Students at Jesus College, Cambridge University in the United Kingdom have called for a bronze statue to be returned to Nigeria.

The statue was looted from Benin City in the 19th Century. It was given to the college as a reference to the surname of founder John Alcock, the bishop and architect who constructed the college.

The cockerel statue is one of 2,000 Benin artworks that sit in museums and private collections across the globe.

Now the students have voted in favour of telling their master the statue should be returned, reported the Mail Online.

A spokesperson for Jesus College told the paper: ‘Recognising that ethical issues are of great importance, Jesus College has structures in place through which these matters can be raised by its members.

‘The request by students is being considered within these processes.’

The campaign is similar to the furore that has engulfed Oxford’s Oriel College, where students want the statue of Cecil Rhodes, the businessman linked with colonialism, removed.