Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senator representing Abia North and former Abia State Governor, disclosed that he once traded in heavy weapons internationally. He made the statement during an interview on Arise News on Monday.
Kalu confirmed that dealing in arms was previously one of his major businesses outside Nigeria. He said he sold the weapons to anyone who could pay for them.
When the interviewer asked if he was an arms dealer, Kalu replied, “Yes.” He explained that he later stopped the trade after his parents intervened.
“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he stated.
Kalu insisted that his sole aim was financial gain. He rejected any suggestion that he considered the buyers’ intentions.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up it’s not my business,” he said.
Furthermore, Kalu said he did not limit his customers to any group or nation. He noted that he sold to buyers in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia whenever they had the money.
“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 explained.
He described the weapons as heavy arms traded from country to country. He declined to reveal his sources, saying, “It’s only my business.”
In addition, when asked about possible sales to Libya under the late Muammar Gaddafi, Kalu responded that he sold to anyone with the money.
“To anybody that had money to buy,” he said. He added, “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.”
