University of Ibadan (UI), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Covenant University have emerged as Nigeria’s top three universities in the 2027 AD Scientific Index, with federal institutions accounting for at least eight of the country’s top 10.

The ranking, released on October 1, placed Nigeria third in Africa and 48th globally, with 53,580 Nigerian scientists across 384 institutions indexed, according to a report by the Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, Prof Peter Okebukola.

University of Ibadan retained the top national position, ranking 889th among nearly 19,800 universities globally and placing among the top 4.5 per cent worldwide.

It was also the only Nigerian university in the global top 1,000.

UI 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.

Covenant University came third, followed by University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Bayero University.

The report said the number of Nigerian universities included in the ranking rose from 257 in the 2024 edition to more than 300 in 2026.

Covenant University recorded the biggest movement among Nigerian institutions, rising 457 places from 1,857th globally in the 2026 edition to 1,400th in the 2027 edition, while retaining third position nationally.

The ranking also highlighted Nigerian researchers, with Mayowa Owolabi of University of Ibadan emerging as the country’s most cited scholar with 257,748 citations.

He ranked 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 University of Ibadan ranked third nationally with 185,602 citations.

The report said 16 of the 22 Nigeria-based scholars in the national top 25 by citations were affiliated with federal institutions, with University of Ibadan accounting for five.

It also cited Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, which increased Nigeria’s representation from 24 universities in 2026 to 29 in 2027. Nineteen of the 29 institutions were federal universities.

According to the report, Ahmadu Bello University and University of Ilorin moved into the 1001–1200 band, while Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Benin entered the 1401–1600 band.

Okebukola, former executive secretary of National Universities Commission, said the rankings reflected growing research visibility in Nigeria’s university system, but stressed the need for greater research impact, international collaboration and sustained investment in leading research groups. (The Nation)