| # | University | City | World rank | In-country | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Nigeria | not ranked | #2 | 777,244 | |
| 2 | Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife | not ranked | #3 | 609,801 | |
| 3 | University of Lagos | not ranked | #5 | 520,700 | |
| 4 | University of Portharcourt | not ranked | #13 | 243,024 | |
| 5 | Federal University of Technology, Minna | not ranked | #16 | 166,101 | |
| 6 | University of Uyo | not ranked | #18 | 138,396 | |
| 7 | Michael Okpara University of Agriculture | not ranked | #28 | 98,383 | |
| 8 | Bells University of Technology | not ranked | #56 | 21,981 | |
| 9 | Taraba State University | not ranked | #67 | 15,457 | |
| 10 | Crawford University | not ranked | #64 | 14,073 | |
| 11 | Tai Solarin University of Education | not ranked | #69 | 13,821 | |
| 12 | Godfrey Okoye University | not ranked | #85 | 6,111 | |
| 13 | The Achievers University | not ranked | #89 | 5,637 | |
| 14 | University of Ibadan | not ranked | #1 | 1,506,090 | |
| 15 | Ahmadu Bello University | not ranked | #4 | 541,347 | |
| 16 | University of Ilorin | not ranked | #6 | 400,545 | |
| 17 | Federal University of Technology, Akure | not ranked | #7 | 377,967 | |
| 18 | Covenant University | not ranked | #8 | 376,002 | |
| 19 | University of Calabar | not ranked | #9 | 306,035 | |
| 20 | University of Benin | not ranked | #10 | 295,638 | |
| 21 | Nnamdi Azikiwe University | not ranked | #11 | 267,067 | |
| 22 | Ladoke Akintola University of Technology | not ranked | #12 | 245,839 | |
| 23 | Bayero University Kano | not ranked | #14 | 234,523 | |
| 24 | Redeemers University | not ranked | #15 | 202,300 | |
| 25 | University of Maiduguri | not ranked | #17 | 159,148 | |
| 26 | Lagos State University | not ranked | #19 | 141,804 | |
| 27 | Federal University of Technology, Owerri | not ranked | #20 | 140,644 | |
| 28 | Landmark University | not ranked | #21 | 139,143 | |
| 29 | University of Jos | not ranked | #22 | 130,135 | |
| 30 | Ebonyi State University | not ranked | #23 | 123,820 | |
| 31 | Ekiti State University | not ranked | #24 | 119,218 | |
| 32 | Olabisi Onabanjo University | not ranked | #25 | 109,719 | |
| 33 | Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto | not ranked | #26 | 106,734 | |
| 34 | Rivers State University of Science and Technology | not ranked | #27 | 96,903 | |
| 35 | Afe Babalola University | not ranked | #29 | 93,206 | |
| 36 | University of Abuja | not ranked | #30 | 77,100 | |
| 37 | Osun State University | not ranked | #31 | 76,169 | |
| 38 | Babcock University | not ranked | #32 | 73,895 | |
| 39 | Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University | not ranked | #33 | 71,272 | |
| 40 | Adekunle Ajasin University | not ranked | #34 | 70,743 | |
| 41 | Niger Delta University | not ranked | #35 | 68,945 | |
| 42 | University of Agriculture Makurdi | not ranked | #36 | 65,313 | |
| 43 | Enugu State University of Science and Technology | not ranked | #37 | 59,072 | |
| 44 | Kwara State University | not ranked | #38 | 55,218 | |
| 45 | Ondo State University of Science and Technology | not ranked | #39 | 54,701 | |
| 46 | Ambrose Alli University | not ranked | #42 | 49,367 | |
| 47 | Bowen University | not ranked | #40 | 48,790 | |
| 48 | Abia State University | not ranked | #41 | 48,668 | |
| 49 | Benue State University | not ranked | #43 | 48,001 | |
| 50 | Imo State University | not ranked | #44 | 47,530 |
What the two columns mean
In-country is the position the ranking record gives the university among those in its own country, and it is often the more useful number: a university ranked 480th in the world may still be third at home. It is carried over as published, so it does not always follow the order of the other two columns. World rank is the university's QS World University Rankings position. Citations are the number of times work published by the university has been cited, as recorded in OpenAlex; it is the measure used to order universities that QS does not rank at all.
The two do not always agree. A large research university can out-cite a smaller one that sits above it in QS, because QS weighs reputation surveys and staff ratios as well as research.