Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed that he previously engaged in international arms trading, saying he sold weapons to buyers who could afford them, regardless of how they intended to use them.
The former Abia State governor made the revelation during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, November 9, 2026, while discussing his business history and relationships with prominent African political leaders.
When asked directly whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu answered in the affirmative, explaining that the business was among his commercial activities outside Nigeria.
He said he eventually abandoned arms dealing after his parents intervened and insisted that he should stop.
“My mother and my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.
Asked whether he sold weapons to people who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu maintained that his primary motivation at the time was making money, not determining what buyers did with the weapons.
“I was selling guns to make money. Whether they blow up people was not my business,” he stated.
The senator further explained that he did not restrict his customers to any particular political organisation or country, insisting that anyone with the financial capacity to purchase weapons could approach him.
Asked whether he supplied arms to the African National Congress (ANC) during its struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Kalu said his business was not limited to the organisation.
He explained that he sold to interested buyers in different countries, mentioning the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia during the interview.
When questioned about where he obtained the weapons, the senator declined to disclose his sources, describing the information as his private business.
Kalu also maintained that the weapons involved were heavy arms traded between countries, rather than the small arms commonly associated with criminal activities and street-level violence.
During the interview, the discussion also turned to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and whether Kalu had supplied weapons to his government.
The senator responded that he sold to anyone who had the money to buy, and when the interviewer suggested that this included Gaddafi, Kalu did not deny the possibility.
He described the late Libyan leader as a good man and offered a prayer for his soul.
The disclosure has drawn attention because of the wider security concerns surrounding international arms trafficking, weapons proliferation and the movement of firearms into conflict-affected regions.
Kalu’s comments also raise questions about the countries, buyers, transactions and period involved in his former arms business. However, the interview report did not provide documentary details of individual transactions, identify specific weapons supplied or establish whether any of the dealings violated applicable laws.
The senator also used the interview to discuss his longstanding relationships with former South African President Nelson Mandela and other leaders, including Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He traced those relationships to his friendship with Mandela, who, according to Kalu, introduced him to several prominent figures in South African politics.
Kalu, who served as Abia State governor from 1999 to 2007, is a businessman and currently represents Abia North in the Senate.
His admission has placed his previously undisclosed international business activities under renewed public scrutiny, particularly the circumstances surrounding his arms transactions and the identities of those who bought weapons from him.
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