An Iranian man charged with orchestrating an illegal arms shipment into Nigeria pleaded not guilty today to the charges against him.
Azim Adhajani and his alleged Nigerian accomplice, Ali Usman Abbas Jega, were charged with the possession and importation of weapons and with making a false cargo declaration after a shipment of mortars and rockets was seized in Nigeria's main port of Lagos last October.
Authorities say the illegal shipment originated in Iran and was destined for Gambia. Prosecution documents identify Adhajani as a Tehran-based businessman and member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard.
The judge ordered the two men held by Nigeria's secret police until a February 15 trial.
Compiled from agency reports