Orji Kalu Opens Up About His Past in Arms Trading and Political Ties

A Nigerian senator, Orji Kalu, has revealed that he once took part in international arms trading. He said he sold weapons to buyers in many African countries but quit the business after his parents urged him to stop.

Mr Kalu, who represents Abia North, shared this during an interview on Arise Television on Monday. He talked about his arms trade activities and his connections with political leaders across Africa.

“My major business used to be outside this country, to deal in arms. I was selling guns to make money, but my parents, my mother and my father, came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

The former governor of Abia State said he left the arms trade but kept in touch with some people he met through it.

When asked if he supplied weapons to the African National Congress (ANC) during the fight against apartheid in South Africa, Mr Kalu said he did not sell only to them. He mentioned that he sold to anyone who could afford his products.

“No, I was selling to anybody who wanted to buy. If you had the money, you wanted to buy in DRC, I sold to you; you wanted to buy in Namibia, I sold to you.”

He did not reveal where he got the weapons but insisted he alone knew that information.

“It’s my business. It’s only I who knows. These are strictly arms that I sell country to country,” he said.

When asked if he sold weapons to Libya under former leader Muammar Gaddafi, the senator said he sold to anyone who had the money.

“I sold to anybody who has money to buy. He [Gaddafi] was a good man. If you have money to buy, when I was selling, I sold to you,” the APC senator said.

Mr Kalu also spoke about rumors regarding his links to foreign intelligence agencies like the CIA and Israel’s Mossad. He denied working for either agency but acknowledged knowing people connected to them.

“On many occasions, even President Obasanjo himself called me an international agent. I mean, those things don’t remove anything from my skin because I know myself,” he said.

He explained that his past in arms trading helped him meet people in the intelligence community.

“Even if I know people in the CIA, I mean I’m not working for them. I’m not an agent. Because I was trading in arms, I must know the two organisations,” he said.

Mr Kalu traced some of his political connections to his relationship with the late South African President, Nelson Mandela. He said Mandela introduced him to many important people in South Africa's political scene.

He named former President Thabo Mbeki and current President Cyril Ramaphosa as leaders he met through Mandela.

Mr Kalu also shared a story where Mandela explained why the ANC chose Mbeki over Ramaphosa for leadership. According to him, Mandela said Mbeki’s father contributed more to the anti-apartheid struggle than Ramaphosa’s father.

This played a role in the party's choice to support Mbeki as Mandela's running mate.

Mr Kalu added that Mbeki later introduced him to another former South African President, Jacob Zuma.

The senator said his ties with South African leaders have continued through different governments, showing the lasting connections from his time with Mandela, the first president after apartheid.