The University of Ilorin has emerged as Nigeria’s number one university in the realm of Research Quality in the just released Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. It scored 69.4 per cent, the highest by any Nigerian university ranked this year.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Egbewole
By Kehinde Akinpelu, Ilorin
The University of Ilorin has emerged as Nigeria’s number one university in the realm of Research Quality in the just released Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. It scored 69.4 per cent, the highest by any Nigerian university ranked this year.
The latest ranking result was released last Wednesday (September 30, 2026) at the World Academic Summit hosted by the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
A statement made available to newsmen at the weekend by the University’s Director of Corporate Afaairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, said that the ranking assesses universities on five pillars such as teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.
The statement quoted the University Ranking Implementation Project Manager, Prof. Suleiman Folorunso Ambali, as saying that “research quality is UNILORIN’s strongest turf, and that the University aims to convert it into wider international recognition and work towards the 801–1000 band in the next edition.”
According to the University’s spokesman, an analysis of the results shows that the University of Ilorin has been “lifted from the 1201–1500 band in 2026 into the 1001–1200 world band”.
“Our University is now one of the seven Nigerian universities in the global top 1,200″, Mr Akogun said, adding that UNILORIN is ahead of the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano and the University of Ibadan on quality research, which carries 30% of the overall score and measures how widely a university’s research is cited by scholars worldwide.”
Reacting to the development, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, said that “this outcome is not accidental but a reflection of years of patient, disciplined scholarship by colleagues who publish work that the world reads and cites.
The Vice Chancellor thanked every lecturer, researcher, postgraduate supervisor and student whose work contributed to the positive rankings of the University.