Read the excerpt from "Benin Plaque: The Oba with Europeans.”Whatever the real facts, the British, in ostensible revenge for the killing, organized a punitive expedition which raided Benin City, exiled the Oba and created the protectorate of Southern Nigeria.

A punitive expedition is an organized action meant to punish a group for an alleged offense. The excerpt says the British raided Benin City and exiled the Oba in revenge, so the expedition was designed to inflict punishment. Choice C matches that meaning.

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