I Sold Heavy Weapons Internationally – Orji Kalu

The Senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has revealed that he previously dealt in heavy weapons internationally, supplying arms to buyers in different countries before quitting the business following intervention by his parents.

Kalu made the disclosure during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, where he discussed his business background and relationships with former and serving South African leaders.

Asked whether he had been an arms dealer, the former Abia State governor confirmed that he was involved in the trade but eventually stopped after his parents urged him to quit.

“Yes, so I stopped because my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

When asked whether he sold weapons to individuals who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, explaining that his primary motivation was to make 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 had supplied weapons to the African National Congress (ANC) during its struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

In response, Kalu said he did not limit his business to any particular organisation or country, maintaining that he sold weapons to anyone who could afford them.

“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 stated.

He declined to disclose where he sourced the weapons, describing the information as his private business.

The interviewer also questioned the connection between his former arms trade and Nigeria’s current security challenges, particularly the proliferation of small arms.

However, Kalu clarified that his business involved heavy weapons traded between countries rather than small arms.

“No, these are heavy arms that were sold country to country,” he said.

Asked specifically whether he supplied weapons to Libya under its late leader, Muammar Gaddafi, the senator maintained that he sold to anyone with the financial means to purchase them.

“To anybody that had money to buy,” he responded.

When the interviewer suggested that this meant he had supplied weapons to Gaddafi, Kalu replied, “May his soul rest in peace. He was a good man. If you have money to buy, when I was selling, I would sell to you.”

The senator also discussed his relationships with successive South African presidents, tracing the connections to his friendship with the country’s late former president, Nelson Mandela.

According to Kalu, Mandela introduced him to several South African leaders, including former President Thabo Mbeki and incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He recalled that Mandela once told him that Mbeki’s father had contributed more to the anti-apartheid struggle than Ramaphosa’s father.

Kalu said this consideration influenced the ANC’s decision to select Mbeki ahead of Ramaphosa as Mandela’s running mate.

He added that Mbeki subsequently introduced him to former South African President Jacob Zuma, noting that his relationships with the country’s political leaders had continued across successive administrations.