Top 10 Best Universities in Nigeria in 2025

The Universities below are the Best Universities in Nigeria. These Seven Nigerian University were featured in the Times Higher Education University Rankings and were rigorously measured on; Teaching, Research, Citations, Industry Income and Internationalisation.

Best Universities in Nigeria in 2025

1. University of Ibadan

University of Ibadan emerged as the best University in Nigeria.

Founded in 1932, the University of Ibadan (UI) was the first university to be established in Nigeria. Originally an affiliated College of the University of London, it was granted full independent status in 1962.

What began life as a small institution with just three departments in Science, Medicine and the Arts, quickly expanded to become one of the country’s most prestigious higher education institutions. Today UI comprises thirteen faculties, including Social Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Veterinary Medicine, Technology, Law, Public Health and Dentistry.

Among the university’s alumni are many notable individuals who have contributed significantly to the political, industrial, economic and cultural development of Nigeria, including the writer Wole Soyinka, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, and Chinua Achebe whose novel Things Fall Apart is the most widely read book in contemporary African literature.

2. University of Lagos

Unilag broke into the ranking for the first time in 2018, and today it is ranked as the second best University in Nigeria.

The university was Founded in 1962, the University of Lagos, Nigeria (UNILAG) has, for over 5 decades, provided qualitative and research-driven education to individuals from around the globe. It has three campuses in Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital. These are: the Main Campus at Akoka (which is largely surrounded by the scenic view of the Lagos lagoon), the School of Radiography at Yaba, and its College of Medicine, at Idi-Araba, Surulere.

The University drives creativity through training and capacity building. It has 10 research centres, some of which are Centres of Excellence and over a hundred research groups that form the unique entities for research. Some of the research centres are: Centres for Drug Research & Herbal Medicine, African Regional Integration & Borderland Studies, Entrepreneurship & Skills Development, Autism & Neuro Development Disorders, Human & Zoonotic Virology, and Economic Policy Analysis & Research. Others are two ARUA Centres i.e. Biodiversity Conservation and Human Resources Development.

3. Covenant University

Covenant which first emerged no 1 in Nigeria in 2018 and joint no 4 in Africa, has been relegated and now ranks as the third best University in Nigeria but it still remains the best private university in Nigeria and one of the best in Africa.

The University is one of the leading universities in Nigeria found on Christian Mission Ethos. Born and driven by a vision to raise a new generation of leaders and to reinstate the dignity of the black race, the University is committed to remain at the cutting-edge of learning that is based on enlightening the Total Man.

The university has four colleges, mostly dedicated towards vocational studies: The College of Business and Social Sciences; College of Leadership and Development Studies; College of Engineering, and the College of Science and Technology.

Covenant University has had a rapid rise in reputation in the decade and a half it has been operating. The Nigerian Universities Commission named it the best private university in Nigeria in its 2018 rankings and the 6th best university overall.

4. University of Ilorin

The University of Ilorin (Unilorin) which is the fourth best University in Nigeria was founded in 1975 and is based in Ilorin, the state capital of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.

Originally a small university offering just a few subjects, Unilorin now has over 48,000 undergraduate and over 5,000 postgraduate students studying 90 academic programmes across 15 different faculties.

Subjects on offer include: agriculture, clinical sciences, medical sciences, law, education, engineering and technology, physical sciences, arts, pharmaceutical science, social sciences, veterinary medicine and management sciences.

Notable alumni include actor Femi Adebayo, former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Nigerian women’s rights activist Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin.

5. University of Nigeria

The University of Nigeria Nsukka is a federal university in Enugu State, Nigeria. Known as UNN, it was founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe (the first President of Nigeria) in 1955 and formally opened in 1960.

UNN operates 102 academic departments across 15 faculties and offers 82 undergraduate programmes and 211 postgraduate programmes for a student population over 36,000. It does so across four campuses: Nsukka; Enugu campus (UNEC); University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), in Ituku-Ozalla and the University of Nigeria Aba campus (UNAC). There is also a UNN Business School.

University of Nigeria is currently ranked the fifth best University in Nigeria.

6. Obafemi Awolowo University

Obafemi Awolowo University is a federal government owned and operated Nigerian university. It was established in 1962 as the University of Ife. In 1987 it was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University in honour of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the university’s founding fathers and eminent lawyer, nationalist, and politician.

The university which is ranked 6th in the list of best Universities in Nigeria, is organised into 13 faculties, which offer a range of undergraduate courses. There is also the postgraduate college and the College of Health Sciences. The university has a number of institutes including the Institute of Cultural Studies, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, and Institute of Public Health.

Committed to the highest level of scientific research, the university has established several research centres, which are fully equipped with the latest technology. These include the Atmospheric Research and Information Analysis Lab and the Drug Research and Production Unit. The university also has its own teaching hospitals, which are used to carry out medical research by students and staff.

Obafemi Awolowo University is currently ranked sixth in the list of best Universities in Nigeria.

7. Lagos State University

Established in 1983, Lagos State University is a public university in Nigeria, operating three major campuses, namely: Ojo, Ukeja and Epa.

As the only state university in Lagos State, the non-residential university has over 35,000 students enrolled full time in courses at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The Ojo campus is the main campus and the location of the central administration. It houses the faculties of arts, education, law, management sciences, science and social sciences, school of transport, school of communication, centre for environment studies and sustainable development, centre for general Nigerian studies, centre for planning studies, information and communication technology centre, online and distance learning and research institute and centre for entrepreneurial studies.

The Lagos State University Epe campus, a fully residential campus on a former military barrack, is even larger than the main campus. It is home to the faculty of engineering, the school of agriculture and the institute for organic agriculture and green economy.

Lagos State University is currently ranked the seventh in the list of best Universities in Nigeria.

Best Universities in Nigeria in 2025

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings includes almost 1,500 universities across 92 countries, standing as the largest and most diverse university rankings ever to date.
The Ranking is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Last Updated: January 2025.