Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has revealed that he previously engaged in the international arms trade, disclosing that he sold heavy weapons to buyers in different countries without considering their identities, provided they had the money to pay.

Kalu made the revelation during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, where he spoke about his business interests and longstanding relationships with former and serving South African leaders.

The former Abia State governor confirmed that he was once involved in the sale of heavy weapons across international borders but eventually quit the business following pressure from his parents.

Responding to a direct question on whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu admitted his involvement, explaining that his parents insisted he abandon the trade.

“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

Asked whether he was concerned that the weapons he sold could be used to kill people, the senator said his motivation was purely commercial, insisting that what happened after the transactions was not his responsibility.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up, it’s not my business,” he stated.

The interviewer also questioned whether he supplied weapons to the African National Congress (ANC) during its struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

Kalu, however, said he sold to different buyers rather than dealing exclusively with the ANC, stressing that his transactions were determined by customers' ability to pay.

“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 asked about the sources of the weapons, the senator declined to reveal details, describing the information as strictly his business.

“It’s only my business,” he replied.

The conversation also touched on Nigeria's security challenges and the proliferation of small arms, with the interviewer questioning how Kalu's former activities related to the circulation of weapons.

In response, Kalu maintained that the weapons he traded were not small arms but heavy military equipment sold between countries.

“No, these are heavy arms that were sold country to country,” he clarified.

Asked whether he sold weapons to Libya during the regime of its late leader, Muammar Gaddafi, Kalu reiterated that he sold to anyone with the financial capacity to purchase them.

“To anybody that had money to buy,” he said.

When the interviewer suggested that his response meant he had supplied weapons to Gaddafi, Kalu responded, “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.”

Meanwhile, Kalu also spoke about his relationships with successive South African presidents, attributing his connections to his friendship with the country's late former president, Nelson Mandela.

He said Mandela introduced him to several South African leaders, including former President Thabo Mbeki and incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to Kalu, Mandela once 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 choose Mbeki over Ramaphosa as his running mate.

Kalu added that Mbeki later introduced him to former President Jacob Zuma, explaining that his relationships with South African political leaders continued through successive administrations.