In a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, Malam Auwalu Umar, Director of the university’s Public Affairs Directorate, dismissed the AI-generated video as "misleading and baseless," emphasizing its aim to distort public perception of Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy initiatives.
The video falsely asserted that Nigerian scientists secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna during the 1980s and that ABU researchers acquired centrifugal equipment from Pakistan’s AQ Khan network. Umar clarified that:
Timeline Inconsistencies: Most ABU scientists at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were abroad for training in the 1980s, making uranium enrichment impossible.
No AQ Khan Ties: ABU has never collaborated with the AQ Khan network or received centrifuge-related equipment.
Documented Facilities: By 1987, ABU’s sole nuclear facility was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, operational by 1988. Nigeria’s first reactor (NIRR-1) was established in 1996 under IAEA oversight and commissioned in 2004.
Umar reiterated Nigeria’s adherence to international treaties, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty, which bar nuclear weapons development. CERT, founded in 1976, operates transparently with IAEA and global partners (U.S., Russia, China) solely for peaceful applications.
He traced ABU’s nuclear research ethos to its founder, Sir Ahmadu Bello, who championed atomic energy for development after visiting the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1960.
“ABU remains committed to advancing science for humanity and upholding Nigeria’s pledge to peaceful nuclear use,” Umar concluded.