ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian court Thursday charged an Iranian and three Nigerians with arms trafficking in connection with an arms shipment officials seized last month at Nigeria’s busiest port.
The Magistrate Court in Abuja said it had charged Iranian Azeem Aghajani with attempting to import prohibited arms into Nigeria with the intent of sending them to nearby Gambia.
The court also charged three Nigerians, Ali Usman Abass Jega, Aliu Oroji Wamakko and Mohammed Tukur, in connection with the seizure.
Aghajani said he needed his embassy to represent him before he could present his plea. The three Nigerians pleaded innocent, but only one of them was represented in court.
The Nigerian’s lawyer argued for bail, but the prosecutor contested the request.
“This is a matter of great national importance, and if I may add, it has international implications,” said prosecutor Matthew Idakwo. “These arms were imported from Iran to our country. It is of great interest to the world. In fact, the United Nations has interest in this matter.”
Magistrate Judge Hafsat Soso said the four men would remain in the custody of Nigeria’s State Security Service as investigations continued.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 11/26/2010