If English took them why do Germans have then now?
Most of the Benin bronzes are in the British Museum as war booty, but some were sold off and ended up in German museums. The British dare not start returning their museum pieces to the origininating countries or their galleries would soon be stripped bare by a multitude of claims. The Germans are subject to a different set of calculations, which may well include Nigeria giving access to other artistic and cultural works and various commercial deals for German firms.