The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has firmly denied allegations circulating online that it was involved in developing a nuclear weapon for Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Director of the Public Affairs Directorate, Malam Auwalu Umar, the institution described the viral video making the claim as AI-generated misinformation designed to mislead the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.
According to Umar, the video falsely alleged that Nigerian scientists in the 1980s secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna and that ABU researchers obtained centrifuge equipment from the AQ Khan network in Pakistan.
He stressed that the allegations were baseless, unfounded, and entirely unsubstantiated, noting that most scientists at ABU’s Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still undergoing training abroad during the 1980s and could not have been involved in any uranium enrichment activities.
Umar clarified that Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, the Nigeria Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1), was established much later in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and was commissioned in 2004, with its operations strictly supervised under international safety and non-proliferation standards.
He reiterated the university’s commitment to transparency, responsible research, and Nigeria’s adherence to the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
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