By Abdussamad Yahya Sufi
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has denied allegations in a viral AI-generated video claiming the institution is secretly developing nuclear weapons in Nigeria.
In a statement published on Friday, October 24, 2025, through its Special Bulletin, the university described the claim as false and misleading. It said the video was an attempt to tarnish its image.
The video alleged that Nigerian scientists at ABU enriched weapons-grade uranium in the 1980s using centrifuges from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network. The university said this was impossible, as most of its nuclear scientists were still in training abroad at the time.
“By 1987, ABU had no nuclear facility apart from a small neutron generator that became functional in 1988,” the statement said. “The Nigeria Research Reactor (NIRR-1) began in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) programme and was commissioned in 2004.”
The university explained that its Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT), established in 1976, focuses only on peaceful applications of nuclear science in medicine, agriculture, and research, under the supervision of the IAEA and the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC).
ABU reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to international treaties banning nuclear weapons, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and the Pelindaba Treaty of 2009.
It also noted that Nigeria’s only research reactor at ABU was converted from Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) in 2018 under international oversight — proof of transparency and compliance with global safety standards.
“Nigeria does not have or plan to build any uranium enrichment or weapons-related facility,” the university said. “All our research activities are peaceful and focused on national development.”
The management urged the public to ignore the false video and rely on credible information from verified sources.