Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, has refuted a viral social media video claiming that the institution was involved in developing a nuclear weapon for Nigeria.
The university’s Director of Public Affairs, Malam Auwalu Umar, described the AI-generated video as false, misleading, and intended to misinform the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.
In a statement, Umar noted that the video falsely alleged that Nigerian scientists in the 1980s secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna and that ABU researchers obtained centrifugal equipment from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network. He dismissed these claims as “baseless, unfounded, and unsubstantiated.”
He explained that most ABU scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still undergoing training abroad during the 1980s and therefore could not have participated in any uranium enrichment activity.
According to him, ABU has never had any link with the AQ Khan network and did not receive any equipment for constructing a centrifuge or nuclear device. He clarified that by 1987, the only nuclear facility at the university was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988.
“Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor (NIRR-1) was established much later in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and commissioned in 2004,” Umar stated.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s nuclear programme has always been transparent and focused solely on peaceful purposes, consistent with the country’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty, which prohibit the development of nuclear weapons.
“The Centre for Energy Research and Training, established in 1976, operates in collaboration with the IAEA and international partners from the U.S., Russia, and China,” he said, stressing that the center has never engaged in any secret weapons programme.
“ABU has always pursued peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology for national development. ABU’s founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, had demonstrated early interest in peaceful atomic research following his visit to the Museum of Atomic Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. in 1960, two years before ABU was established,” Umar added.
He reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to advancing scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity and to upholding Nigeria’s international obligations regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
