ABU Denies Claims Of Secret Nuclear Weapons Project

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has dismissed a viral social media video alleging that it was involved in developing a secret nuclear weapons programme for Nigeria.

In a statement on Saturday, the university’s Director of Public Affairs, Auwalu Umar, described the AI-generated video as false and misleading, saying it was an attempt to distort Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy record.

He said the claim that ABU scientists secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in the 1980s or obtained equipment from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network was completely untrue.

According to Umar, most of the scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training were still undergoing studies abroad at the time and could not have been involved in such activities.

He explained that by 1987, ABU only had a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, while Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, NIRR-1, was set up in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s cooperation programme and commissioned in 2004.

Umar reaffirmed that all of Nigeria’s nuclear efforts have been peaceful and compliant with international treaties, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Pelindaba Treaty.

He added that ABU’s nuclear centre works openly with the IAEA and partners such as the United States, Russia, and China, focusing only on peaceful applications of nuclear science for national development.

Umar said the university remains committed to advancing science and technology responsibly and upholding Nigeria’s global obligations on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.