Senator Orji Kalu
By Victory Oghene
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who represents Abia North Senatorial District, has disclosed that he previously traded in heavy weapons internationally, disclosing that he sold arms to buyers in different countries, including anyone who could afford to pay for them.
Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, made the startling revelation during an interview on Arise Television on Monday while discussing his longstanding relationships with former and current South African leaders and his involvement in business activities across Africa.
The senator acknowledged that he had previously operated an international arms business, explaining that his dealings involved heavy weapons traded between countries rather than small firearms.
When the anchor directly asked whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu answered in the affirmative, although he explained that he eventually abandoned the business following pressure from his parents.
“Yes, so I stopped because my…” he began.
Explaining why he quit the business, the senator said his parents, particularly his mother and father, intervened and insisted that he discontinue the trade.
“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.
However, when asked whether he sold weapons to individuals who intended to use them to kill other people, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, maintaining that his primary motivation was making money rather than concerning himself with how the weapons would eventually be used.
“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.
Kalu, however, said he did not restrict his business to the ANC or any particular political organisation, explaining that he sold weapons to anybody willing and financially capable of purchasing 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 said.
When pressed on where he obtained the weapons he sold, the senator declined to provide details about his suppliers or sources, insisting that such information was private to his business.
“It’s only my business,” he responded.
The anchor also raised concerns about the proliferation of small arms and weapons in Nigeria, questioning how Kalu’s description of his former international arms dealings related to the country’s security challenges.
The senator, however, clarified that the weapons involved in his former business were not small arms but heavy military equipment traded between countries.
“No, these are heavy arms that were sold country to country,” he said.
In another striking exchange, the interviewer specifically asked whether Kalu had sold weapons to Libya under its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Responding, the senator maintained that his business was open to anybody who had the financial capacity to purchase the weapons.
“To anybody that had money to buy,” he said.
When the interviewer suggested that his response meant he had also sold weapons to Gaddafi, Kalu did not directly confirm or deny a specific transaction but appeared to indicate that he would have sold to the late Libyan leader if he had the money to purchase them during the period he was involved in the business.
“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,” Kalu said.
The senator did not disclose the period during which he operated the arms business, the companies or individuals involved, the volume of weapons traded, the specific countries or buyers he supplied, or whether the transactions were conducted through licensed international arms-trading arrangements.
Beyond his disclosure about his former arms-trading activities, Kalu also discussed his longstanding relationships with successive South African presidents, tracing the connections to his friendship with the country’s former President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela.
According to the senator, Mandela introduced him to several prominent South African political leaders, including former President Thabo Mbeki and the country’s current President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Kalu recounted that Mandela once explained the political considerations surrounding the emergence of Mbeki over Ramaphosa as his running mate within the African National Congress.
According to Kalu, Mandela told him that Mbeki’s father had contributed more to the anti-apartheid struggle than Ramaphosa’s father, a factor he said influenced the ANC’s decision to favour Mbeki.
Kalu further disclosed that Mbeki subsequently introduced him to former South African President Jacob Zuma, explaining that his relationships with the country’s political leadership continued across successive administrations.
