Nigerian universities, led by federal institutions, have recorded significant gains in global research rankings, with the country now ranked third in Africa and 48th globally, the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee (NiTERAC) has said.
NiTERAC Chairman Prof. Peter Okebukola disclosed this in a report issued on Sunday, citing the latest AD Scientific Index, which ranked researchers and institutions across 221 countries.
According to him, the October 1 ranking indexed 53,580 Nigerian scientists across 384 institutions, giving Nigeria the most indexed researchers among Africa’s three leading research countries.
The University of Ibadan retained its position as Nigeria’s leading university, ranking 889th among nearly 19,800 universities globally and placing it among the top 4.5 per cent worldwide.
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“University of Ibadan is the only Nigerian university in the global top 1,000,” Okebukola said.
He said the university improved from 904th in the mid-August ranking to 889th in the October update, while retaining 14th position in Africa across the 2025, 2026 and 2027 editions.
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, ranked second nationally and 1,227th globally, while Covenant University emerged third nationally.
They were followed by the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Bayero University.
“Federal universities occupied at least eight of the top 10 positions nationally, underscoring their role as the core of Nigeria’s research strength,” Okebukola said.
He also noted that the number of Nigerian universities ranked increased from 257 in the 2024 edition to more than 300 in 2026.
According to the report, Covenant University recorded the largest movement, climbing 457 places from 1,857th globally in the 2026 edition to 1,400th in the 2027 edition, while retaining third position nationally.
On individual researchers, Okebukola said Mayowa Owolabi of the University of Ibadan emerged as Nigeria’s most cited scholar, with 257,748 citations.
“Owolabi ranked 676th among more than 2.6 million indexed researchers worldwide, followed by Shafiu Mohammed of Ahmadu Bello University with 242,300 citations and a global ranking of 776th.
“Olayinka Ilesanmi of the University of Ibadan ranked third in Nigeria with 185,602 citations.”
Okebukola said 16 of the 22 Nigeria-based scholars in the national top 25 by citations were affiliated with federal institutions, with the University of Ibadan accounting for five.
He also cited the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, noting that Nigeria’s representation increased from 24 universities in 2026 to 29 in 2027.
“Nineteen of the 29 institutions are federal universities,” he said, citing the report.
According to Okebukola, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ilorin moved into the 1,001–1,200 global ranking band.
“Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin also moved into the 1,401–1,600 band,” he added.
Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), said the gains reflected increasing research visibility across Nigeria’s university system.
He, however, stressed the need for stronger research impact, greater international collaboration and sustained investment in leading research groups to consolidate the progress.
