I bought arms to nations, anybody prepared to pay – Orji Kalu opens up

Former Abia State Governor and Senator, Orji Uzor Kalu, has revealed that he beforehand engaged in worldwide arms buying and selling, saying he bought weapons to people and nations prepared to pay for them.

Kalu made the revelation throughout an interview on Arise News, the place he mentioned his enterprise dealings and longstanding relationships with a number of African leaders.

Speaking in the course of the interview, the previous governor confirmed that dealing in arms was as soon as one among his main companies exterior Nigeria.

When requested whether or not he was an arms vendor, Kalu responded, “Yes,” confirming that he bought weapons to generate income.

He, nevertheless, defined that his dad and mom finally persuaded him to desert the enterprise.

“My mother and my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he mentioned.

Kalu additionally dismissed options that he was involved about how the weapons could be used, insisting that his major curiosity on the time was earning money.

“I was selling guns to make money. Whether they blow [up] people was not my business,” he acknowledged.

Asked whether or not he equipped weapons to the African National Congress, ANC, in the course of the battle in opposition to apartheid in South Africa, Kalu denied that the organisation was his particular buyer.

“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy,” he mentioned.

He additional disclosed that his arms enterprise operated throughout completely different nations, including that he was prepared to promote to anybody with the monetary capability to buy the weapons.

When requested whether or not he had bought arms to former Libyan chief Muammar Gaddafi, Kalu maintained that his enterprise was open to any purchaser.

“To anybody that has money to buy, when I was selling,” he mentioned, whereas describing Gaddafi as “a good man” and including, “May he rest in peace.”

The interviewer additionally questioned Kalu concerning the sources of the weapons and the identities of his suppliers, significantly in opposition to the backdrop of issues over the proliferation of small arms in Nigeria.

However, the previous governor declined to reveal the place he obtained the weapons, describing the knowledge as his non-public enterprise.

Kalu’s revelation got here whereas recounting how he established relationships with outstanding South African political figures, together with former presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.