Worthy News: Nigeria to quiz Iranian over arms

Sunday 14 November 2010

Nigeria to quiz Iranian over arms

Security officials stand around some of the illegal weapons found at Nigeria's main seaport in Lagos on 27 October 2010

Only a fraction of the arsenal was put on display for journalists

Nigeria has said it will report Iran to the UN over an arms shipment seized two weeks ago in Lagos, if investigations show sanctions were broken.

But Nigeria's Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia told the BBC both countries would prefer to clear the air.

His Iranian counterpart has promised to co-operate with investigations and has given Nigerian authorities access to a suspect in the Iranian embassy.

Iran is under UN sanctions because of its nuclear programme.

Nigeria's authorities have described discovering an arsenal including rocket launchers, grenades and mortars.

There were fears the weapons might be destined for local groups but security sources say they now believe the arms were not meant to be used in Nigeria.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia told journalists that investigations had shown that the weapons did indeed come from Iran.

"That's been confirmed from our own shipping documents and the Iranian foreign minister," he said.

But he said there was no indication that the shipment had broken the UN sanctions as no nuclear materials had been involved.

"If Nigeria finds in the conclusion of investigations that there has been a breach of any sanctions, as a member of the UN Council we would do what is necessary," he said.

He was speaking after meeting Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who has travelled to Nigeria to discuss the issue.

He said that Nigerian security agents wanted to question two Iranian nationals who are in the embassy but one of them has diplomatic immunity.

"If the Iranians are willing to waive immunity, then we will pursue that," Mr Ajumogobia said.

It was initially feared that the weapons could be used in Nigeria - by oil militants in the Niger Delta, or Islamist radicals in the north or in elections due next year.

But the BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says security sources now believe Nigeria's port may have been targeted as a holding destination - thanks to the country's reputation for corruption and lax regulations.

The France-based shipping company CMA CGM says there were attempts to send the containers on - to The Gambia, in West Africa - before the Nigerian police seized them.

It says the shipment came from Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran, and were hidden in containers labelled as building materials.

Two people who handled the shipment have been arrested.

This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.