University of Ibadan maintains position as best university in Nigeria
University of Ibadan (UI) has retained its position as Nigeria’s leading university in the latest AD Scientific Index rankings, while Nigerian universities recorded significant gains in global research visibility.
The latest edition of the rankings, refreshed on October 1, 2026, placed Nigeria third in Africa and 48th globally among 221 countries, according to a report by the Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee (NiTERAC), Professor Peter Okebukola.
The report said the index covered 53,580 Nigerian scientists across 384 institutions, giving Nigeria the largest number of indexed researchers among Africa’s three leading research countries.
It ranked the University of Ibadan 889th among nearly 19,800 universities globally, placing the institution among the top 4.5 per cent of universities worldwide and making it the only Nigerian university in the global top 1,000.
The university also improved its position from 904th in the mid-August ranking to 889th in the October update.
According to the report, UI has maintained the 14th position in Africa across the 2025, 2026 and 2027 editions of the ranking.
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), retained second position in Nigeria, ranking 1,227th globally and 31st in Africa, while Covenant University emerged as the third-best Nigerian university.
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) ranked fourth nationally, followed by Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Bayero University.
The report noted that federal universities occupied at least eight of the top 10 positions nationally, describing the institutions as the core of Nigeria’s research strength.
It further revealed that Nigeria’s presence in the global rankings had continued to expand, with the number of Nigerian universities ranked increasing from 257 in the 2024 edition to more than 300 in 2026.
Covenant University recorded the largest individual movement among Nigerian institutions, rising 457 places from 1,857th globally in the 2026 edition to 1,400th in the 2027 edition, while retaining its third position nationally.
The report also highlighted the performance of Nigerian researchers, with Mayowa Owolabi of the University of Ibadan emerging as the country’s most cited scholar.
Owolabi recorded 257,748 citations, placing him 676th among more than 2.6 million researchers indexed globally.
He was followed by Shafiu Mohammed of Ahmadu Bello University, with 242,300 citations and a global ranking of 776th, while Olayinka Ilesanmi of the University of Ibadan ranked third in Nigeria with 185,602 citations.
The report said 16 of the 22 Nigeria-based scholars in the national top 25 by citations are affiliated with federal universities, with the University of Ibadan alone accounting for five.
It also cited the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 as further evidence of the growing visibility of Nigerian universities globally.
According to the report, Nigeria’s representation in the Times Higher Education rankings increased from 24 universities in the 2026 edition to 29 in 2027, with 19 of the 29 institutions being federal universities.
It said Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ilorin moved into the 1001–1200 band, while Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin advanced into the 1401–1600 band.
Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), said the developments reflected increasing research visibility across Nigeria’s university system.
He, however, stressed the need for the country to move beyond visibility to stronger research impact, increased international collaboration and sustained investment in leading research groups.
He said the gains provided evidence of the growing capacity of Nigerian universities and researchers to compete within the global knowledge economy.
