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Investigators are
holding an Iranian in custody in connection with the shipment of arms
discovered last Month at the Apapa Port in Lagos. Security sources told
NEXT at the weekend that the man, who had taken refuge at the Iranian
embassy, has been with officials of the State Security Service for about
three days now and is already providing useful information.

“He is expected to
throw more light on the involvement of the Nigerian consignee, who is
also involved in the shipment of the arms,” the source said.

Nigeria’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia had, last Friday after talks with
the Iranian Foreign Affairs minister, Manouchehr Mottak, told
journalists in Abuja that security agencies had been granted access to
the Iranian embassy to interrogate the Iranian in their probe of the
incident.

Mr Ajumogobia, who
travelled to New York at the weekend, is also expected to brief the
United Nations on the incident. The Nigerian official is in the United
States for a Security Council discussion on Sudan where participants
will be briefed on the preparations for the January 2011 referendum in
south Sudan, the situation in Darfur and progress of the Doha peace
talks.

UN
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is expected to do the briefing along with
the Head of the AU High-Level Implementation Monitoring Panel, Thabo
Mbeki; the Head of UN Mission in Sudan, Haile Menkerios and the Head of
UN/AU Mission in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari.

UN arms sanction

But Mr Ajumogobia
is also expected to raise the issue of the arms export, especially as
Iran is under a UN conventional arms ban. The resolution affirming the
ban also empowers states to seize and dispose the prohibited items when
they are found.

On Oct. 26,
Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) discovered 13 containers of
illegal weapons at the port. A French-based shipping company, CNA CGM,
said the shipment originated from the southern Iranian port of Bandar
Abbas and was delivered to Lagos in July. The shipping company said
labels on the crates indicated they contained stone and glass wool.

The shipment was subsequently taken to a depot where it was left
untouched. The cargo was later opened and found to contain artillery
rockets and shells, mortars and hand grenades, among others.