Ahmadu Bello University rejects claims of nuclear weapons development involvement

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State, has denied allegations appearing in a viral video suggesting that the university engaged in nuclear weapons development for Nigeria.

In a statement released by Malam Auwalu Umar, the university’s Director of Public Affairs, ABU labeled the AI-generated video as deceptive and aimed at disseminating falsehoods regarding Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy initiatives.

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Umar clarified that the video inaccurately claimed that Nigerian scientists secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna during the 1980s, asserting that ABU researchers supposedly acquired centrifuge equipment from the AQ Khan network in Pakistan.

He described these allegations as “groundless, unfounded, and unproven,” pointing out that the majority of ABU scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still in training abroad during that period and therefore could not have participated in any uranium enrichment efforts.

According to Umar, ABU has never had any connections with the AQ Khan network and did not receive any centrifuge or nuclear-related equipment. He noted that by 1987, the only nuclear facility at the university was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988.

He also highlighted that Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, NIRR-1, was established in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and was activated in 2004.

Umar emphasized that Nigeria’s nuclear research has always been conducted transparently and exclusively for peaceful purposes, aligned with the country’s commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty, both of which prohibit the development of nuclear weapons.

He stated that the Centre for Energy Research and Training, established in 1976, collaborates with the IAEA and international partners from the United States, Russia, and China.

Umar reiterated that the centre has never worked on any secret weapons program, reaffirming ABU’s commitment to using nuclear science for peaceful and developmental ends.

He recalled that the university’s founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, expressed an early interest in peaceful atomic research after visiting the Museum of Atomic Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States in 1960, two years before ABU was founded.

The statement concluded by affirming the university’s dedication to advancing science and technology for the betterment of humanity while adhering to Nigeria’s international obligations concerning the peaceful use of nuclear energy.