The management of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has dismissed claims circulating in a viral social media video alleging that the institution was secretly developing a nuclear weapon for Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Zaria, the Director of Public Affairs, Malam Auwalu Umar, described the video as AI-generated, false, and misleading, saying it was designed to misinform the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.
“The claims are baseless, unfounded, and unsubstantiated. They do not reflect the facts about our work or Nigeria’s nuclear policy,” Umar said.
He explained that the video falsely alleged that ABU scientists had enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna in the 1980s and obtained centrifuge equipment from Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan network, a claim he said had no factual basis.
According to Umar, most of the researchers at ABU’s Centre for Energy Research and Training were still undergoing training abroad during that period and could not have participated in such activities.
“ABU has no link whatsoever with the A.Q. Khan network and has never received any material or equipment for the construction of a centrifuge or nuclear device,” he clarified.
The director noted that by 1987, the only nuclear facility at the university was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988.
He added that Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, NIRR-1, was established in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Cooperation Programme and commissioned in 2004.
Umar reaffirmed that all of Nigeria’s nuclear research had been conducted openly and in line with international regulations.
“Nigeria’s nuclear activities are purely peaceful and comply fully with international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Pelindaba Treaty, both of which prohibit nuclear weapons development,” he said.
He also highlighted that the Centre for Energy Research and Training, established in 1976, collaborates with international partners from the United States, Russia, China, and the IAEA to advance peaceful applications of nuclear science.
“ABU has never engaged in any secret weapons programme. Our focus remains the peaceful use of nuclear technology for research, energy, health, and agriculture,” Umar emphasised.
He further noted that the university’s founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, had shown interest in peaceful atomic research as far back as 1960 after visiting the Museum of Atomic Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States two years before ABU was established.
Umar assured that the institution remains committed to advancing science and technology in ways that contribute positively to national development.
“The university will continue to uphold Nigeria’s international obligations and promote nuclear research strictly for peaceful purposes and the benefit of humanity,” he said.
