Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, has refuted claims made in a viral social media video accusing the institution of secretly developing nuclear weapons for Nigeria.
In a statement obtained by The News Chronicle on Saturday, the university’s Director of Public Affairs, Malam Auwalu Umar, described the video as false, misleading, and intentionally designed to misinform the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear research.
According to Umar, the AI-generated video wrongly alleged that Nigerian scientists in the 1980s enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna and that ABU obtained centrifuge equipment from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network. He called these claims “baseless and unsubstantiated.”
He explained that the allegations were historically inaccurate because, during the 1980s, most of ABU’s scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still studying abroad and could not have been involved in any weapons-related activities.
“ABU has no connection with the AQ Khan network and never received any equipment related to nuclear weapons development,” he said.
Umar clarified that the only nuclear related equipment at the university in the 1980s was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988. Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, the Nigeria Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1), was not established until 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and was officially commissioned in 2004.
He stressed that Nigeria’s nuclear programme has always focused on peaceful applications and fully complies with international treaties such as the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty, which prohibit the development of nuclear weapons.
Umar added that ABU’s Centre for Energy Research and Training, founded in 1976, collaborates with the IAEA and international partners, including the United States, Russia, and China, and has never been involved in any secret weapons projects.
“ABU is committed to using nuclear science and technology for peaceful national development,” Umar stated.
He also recalled that the university’s founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, showed interest in peaceful atomic research during his 1960 visit to the Museum of Atomic Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States two years before the university was founded.
Reaffirming ABU’s mission, Umar concluded: “The university remains dedicated to advancing science and technology for the benefit of humanity and upholding Nigeria’s commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”
