The Senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has disclosed that he previously traded in heavy weapons internationally, saying he sold arms to buyers who could afford them before abandoning the business at his parents’ insistence.
Kalu made the disclosure during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, while discussing his longstanding relationships with former and current South African leaders.
The former Abia State governor said his business interests previously extended beyond Nigeria, adding that he dealt in heavy weapons sold from one country to another.
When asked by the interviewer whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu responded, “Yes, so I stopped because my…”
Explaining why he abandoned the business, he said his parents asked him to quit.
“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.
Asked whether he sold weapons to people who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, insisting that his interest was making money.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up it’s not my business,” he said.
The interviewer subsequently asked whether he supplied weapons to the African National Congress during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
Kalu denied selling exclusively to the ANC, saying his customers included anyone willing to pay for the weapons.
“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy. If you have the money, you want to buy in D.R.C, I sell to you, you want to buy in Namibia, you want to buy…” he said.