Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has firmly denied claims circulating in a viral AI-generated video that it was involved in developing nuclear weapons for Nigeria.
In a statement issued by Malam Auwalu Umar, Director of Public Affairs, the university described the video as misleading and aimed at misinforming the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.
The video falsely alleged that Nigerian scientists secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in the 1980s and that ABU acquired centrifuge equipment from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network. Umar dismissed these claims as baseless and unsubstantiated.
He clarified that most ABU scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still undergoing training abroad during the 1980s and could not have participated in any enrichment activities. The university’s only nuclear facility at the time was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988.
Umar emphasized that Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, NIRR-1, was established in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and commissioned in 2004.
He reaffirmed that Nigeria’s nuclear activities have always been transparent and strictly for peaceful purposes, in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty.
ABU’s CERT operates in collaboration with the IAEA and international partners from the US, Russia, and China. The university reiterated its commitment to advancing peaceful nuclear science and technology for national development.
Umar also referenced ABU’s founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, who showed early interest in peaceful atomic research during a 1960 visit to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.
The university urged the public to disregard the false claims and reaffirmed its dedication to scientific integrity and Nigeria’s international obligations.
