By Ademola Ade
The University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, has emerged as Nigeria’s top-ranked university in Research Quality in the latest Times Higher Education, THE, World University Rankings.
UNILORIN scored 69.4 per cent in the research quality category, the highest score recorded by any Nigerian university ranked in the 2026 edition.
The latest ranking was released on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at the World Academic Summit hosted by the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
According to a press statement issued at the weekend by the university’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, the THE ranking evaluates universities across five broad pillars: 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 remained UNILORIN’s strongest area.
Ambali said the university would build on the achievement to secure greater international recognition, with a target of moving into the 801–1000 global band in the next edition.
The university also recorded an improvement in its overall global position, moving from the 1201–1500 band to the 1001–1200 band in the latest ranking.
Akogun said the development placed UNILORIN among the seven Nigerian universities ranked within the global top 1,200.
He added that the university outperformed the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, and the University of Ibadan in research quality, a category that accounts for 30 per cent of the overall THE ranking score and measures the global reach and influence of universities’ research through scholarly citations.
Reacting to the ranking, UNILORIN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, described the outcome as a reflection of sustained academic work by the university’s scholars.
Egbewole said: “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 commended lecturers, researchers, postgraduate supervisors and students whose academic contributions, he said, helped drive the university’s improved performance.
He said the institution would continue to strengthen its research capacity and global visibility.
