$15 million seized by South African in Two Separate Incidents is ' Legitimate ' - Says NSA

The office of the National Security Advisor said yesterday that the $15 million that has been seized by South African authorities in two separate incidents was money for 'legitimate' arms deals. It therefore urged South Africa to release the funds.

South Africa's National Prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday that the latest seizure of 5.7 million dollars covered armaments considered 'controlled items', and the deal was being conducted without relevant permits.

Rejecting the charge, NSA spokesman, Karounwi Adekunle said in a statement that a business transaction actually took place between a legitimate company in Nigeria and another legitimate one in South Africa through the bank.

He said that the company had not been able to obtain the arms and so tried to refund the money.

Some of the arms Nigeria was trying to prurchase included 50 M-75 cannons and 200,000 rounds of ammunition.