We have researched some of the best university in Nigeria where you can study the best course of your choice and come out in flying colors.
There are more than 100 list of universities in Nigeria including: Federal universities, state universities and private universities in Nigeria that lectures part time.
University Definition?
According To Wikipedia, University is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines.
Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in different schools or faculties of learning.
Top 10 – 35 Best University In Nigeria
The list here includes Federal universities, state universities and some private universities that are rated best in Nigeria.
• University Of Lagos (UNILAG)
The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962.
UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in the world in major education publications.
The university presently has three campuses in the mainland of Lagos. Whereas two of its campuses are located at Yaba (the main campus in Akoka and the recently created campus at the former school of radiography), its college of medicine is located at Idi-Araba, Surulere.
Its main campus is largely surrounded by the Lagos lagoon and has 802 acres of land.
The University of Lagos currently admits over 9,000 undergraduate students annually and enrolls over 57,000 students.
• University Of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)
The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has three campuses in Enugu State– Nsukka, Enugu, and Ituku-Ozalla – and the Aba campus in Abia State.
The University of Nigeria is the first full-fledged indigenous and first autonomous university in Nigeria, modelled upon the American educational system.
It is the first land-grant university in Africa and one of the five most reputed universities in Nigeria.
The university has 15 Faculties and 102 academic departments. The university offers 108 undergraduate programs and 211 postgraduate programmes.
The university celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2010, and would have celebrated its 60th anniversary save for the COVID-19 pandemic.
• University Of Ibadan (UI)
The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London.
It became an independent university in 1963 and is the oldest degree-awarding institution in Nigeria. Through its graduate network, the University of Ibadan has contributed to the political, industrial, economic and cultural development of Nigeria.
The history and influence of the University of Ibadan have made it one of the most prestigious universities in Africa.
• University Of Ilorin
University of Ilorin, also known as Unilorin, is a federal government-owned university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
It was established by a decree of the federal military government in August, 1975. The establishment aimed to implement one of the educational directives of the Third National Development Plan which was aimed at providing more opportunities for Nigerians aspiring to acquire university education and to generate high-level manpower, so vital for the rapidly expanding economy. Compared to other higher institutions of learning in the country, the institution has one of the largest land areas, covering approximately 15,000 hectares of land.
It is revealed by JAMB to be the most sought after university in the year 2021.
• Convenant University
Covenant University (CU) is a private Christian university in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
It is affiliated with Living Faith Church Worldwide and is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Association of African Universities , and National Universities Commission.
In 2019, Covenant University became the first Nigerian university to be ranked in the top 401-500 category of world universities by Times Higher Education.
• University Of Benin (Uniben)
University of Benin (UNIBEN) is a public research university located in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
It is among the universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and was founded in 1970.
The School currently has two campuses with fifteen faculties including a central library called the John Harris Library.
• University Of Maiduguri
The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) is a Federal higher institution located in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in northeast Nigeria.
The university was created by the federal government of Nigeria in 1975, with the intention of its becoming one of the country’s principal higher-education institutions.
It enrolls about 25,000 students in its combined programs, which include a college of medicine and faculties of agriculture, arts,environmental science,Allied health science,Basic medical science, dentistry, education, engineering, law, management science, pharmacy, science, social science, and veterinary medicine.
With the encouragement of the federal government, the university has recently been increasing its research efforts, particularly in the fields of agriculture, medicine and conflict resolution, and expanding the university press.
The total budget is ₦1,920,660,623.11. The university is the major higher institution of learning in the north-eastern part of the country.
• Nnamdi Azikiwe University
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka also called UNIZIK or NAU in short is a Federal university in Nigeria.
It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is located in Awka (the capital of Anambra State) while the other campus is located at Nnewi.
There are also other campuses of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. These include Agulu in Aniocha local government area and Ifite-Ogwuari in Ayamelum local government area in Anambra State.
It is one of the federal universities in Nigeria which are overseen and accredited by the National Universities Commission.
The university is named after Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. The academic staff of the University belong to Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The staff Union is known to grant scholarship to indigent students just like other philanthropists. It has a total population of about 34,000 students.
• Bayero University Kano
Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to university. It is the first university in Kano State.
• Federal University Of Agriculture
The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta is one of the higher institutions of learning owned and run by the Federal government of Nigeria.
• Benue State University
Benue State University is a state-owned university in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. In 2006, student enrollment was over 19,000 served by 7 faculties, 23 departments.
The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs with a catalog of over 58 graduate programs across 9 colleges/faculties.
It is accredited by the National Universities Commission. The current Vice-chancellor of Benue State University is Professor Msugh Moses Kembe who took over from Professor Charity Angya on November 5, 2015.
• Federal University Of Technology Akure
The Federal University of Technology Akure (informally FUT Akure or simply FUTA) was founded in 1981 under a drive by the government of Nigeria to create universities that specialised in producing graduates with practical as well as theoretical knowledge of technologies. It is located in Akure, the capital city of Ondo State.
• University Of Abuja
The University of Abuja is a tertiary institution in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. It was established in January 1988 (under Decree No. 110 of 1992 as amended) as a dual-mode university with the mandate to run conventional and distance learning programmes.
Academic work began in the University in 1990 with the matriculation of its pioneer students.
• University Of Port Harcourt
The University of Port Harcourt is located in the city of Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria.
It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977.
The University of Port Harcourt was ranked the sixth in Africa and the first in Nigeria by Times Higher Education (in 2015.
• University Of Jos
The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a Federal University in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria.
• Ekiti State University
Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti aka EKSU was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the first civilian governor of Ondo State.
The university is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It is located about 12 minutes drive from the center of the city of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State in Western Nigeria.
• Ambrose Alli University
Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is a state-owned university in Edo State, Nigeria and was established in 1981 by the governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli (1979–1983).
Initially known as Bendel State University, subsequently known as Edo State University, and finally changed to its present name in commemoration of professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli, AAU is accredited and recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The institution is currently digitizing its operations to a world-class level by 2020, to make it the best state-owned university in Nigeria. The Ambrose Alli University Library houses the information resources for the institution.
• Abia State University
Abia State University is one of the state owned universities in Nigeria. These state academic institutions were created to expand admissions and bring professional skills, expertise and modern research facilities close to the city and rural dwellers, and have helped talented students to obtain higher education.
• Olabisi Onabanjo University
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye is a state (owned and operated) university in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.
The university was founded July 7, 1982 as Ogun State University (OSU) and was renamed Olabisi Onabanjo University on May 29, 2001, in honour of Chief (Dr.) Olabisi Onabanjo, whose efforts as the then civilian governor of Ogun State gave birth to the university.
Meanwhile, many students still refer to the institution as OSU, an acronym for the former name.
• Federal University Of Technology Owerri
The Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) is a federal government university in Owerri West, the capital of Imo State, Nigeria.
The university is bounded by the communities of Eziobodo, Umuchima, Ihiagwa and Obinze.
It is the premier federal university of technology in the South-East and South-South parts of Nigeria.
• Federal University Of Technology Minna
Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA) is a Federal Government owned University located in Minna, Nigeria.
FUT MINNA specializes in technological education. The university is a designated Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering and has a core competence in the development of vaccines and drugs.
• Lagos State University
Lagos State University, also known as LASU, is located in Ojo, a town in Lagos State, Nigeria. LASU is the only state university in the former British colony.
The university was established in 1983 by the enabling law of Lagos State, for the advancement of learning and establishment of academic excellence; its motto being For Truth and Service.
The university caters for over 35,000 students. The university offers diploma, degree and post graduate programmes, including an MBA programme. LASU was ranked among the top 600 universities in the world by in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2020. On 23 June, 2021 Lasu emerged as the best young university in Nigeria having been below the age of 50 years to be added.
Times Higher Education ranked the Lagos State University as the second best university in Nigeria on the 2 September 2020, and was the only state university included in the rankings for 2022.
The university has attracted international funding, including for the establishment of a World Bank Group Africa Centre for Excellence on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
• Nile University Of Nigeria
Nile University of Nigeria (NILE) is a private multidisciplinary university established in 2009 and located in Abuja, Nigeria.
It is a member of the Honoris United Universities Network and accredited by the National Universities Commission.
Currently, it has six faculties and a School of Postgraduate Studies offering 34 undergraduate programs and 47 postgraduate programs.
• Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS),
Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), also known as UDUSOK, is a public research university located in the city of Sokoto, Nigeria. It is one of the initial twelve universities founded in Nigeria by the federal government in 1975.
• Kwara State University
Kwara State University, also known as KWASU, is the 77th university to be registered by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC). It is the 95th university to be recognized in Nigeria.
• Nassarawa State University
Nasarawa State University is located in Keffi Nigeria. Nassarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), is a tertiary institution which was created to encourage the advancement of learning in the state and its neighbouring environment.
• River State University
Rivers State University (RVSU or RSU), formerly Rivers State University of Science and Technology (UST) is a university located in the Diobu area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
The university has staff strength of 3,000 and a student population of 22,400 as of 2017.
It is the first technological university in Nigeria and also the first university to be situated within the Niger Delta. In 2014, it was rated as Nigeria’s best e-learning institution and was ranked as the 15th best university in the country.
• Federal University Oye
Federal University Oye Ekiti is a government owned and operated Nigerian university. The university is in the ancient city of Oye-Ekiti and Ikole-Ekiti making it two campuses,
The university was founded in 2011 as the Federal University Oye Ekiti by the federal government of Nigeria, led by President Goodluck Jonathan.
• Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the University of Northern Nigeria.
• Nigeria Defence Academy
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.
The duration of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy is five years (four years academic and one+ year military).
• Federal University Lokoja
The Federal University Lokoja, popularly known as Fulokoja, is a federal university in the confluence city of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria. Lokoja lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers.
• Babcock University
Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria.
The university is located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria equidistant between Ibadan and Lagos.
• Taraba State University
Taraba State University is located in Jalingo, Taraba State Nigeria. The university at Jalingo was established by the Taraba State Government in 2008, to widen access to university education for Taraba State indigenes and promote economic development in the country.
Right from inception, the university set out for itself a goal that is captured in its motto – Harnessing nature’s gift.
The university is guided by the national and international manpower needs usually accredited by the National Universities Commission, Abuja.
• Osun State University
Osun State University is a multi-campus university established by Osun State Government under the administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
The university currently operates six campuses distributed across the six administrative/geopolitical zones of the state.
Nigeria’s National Universities Commission approved Osun State University on December 21, 2006, as the 30th State University and the 80th in the Nigerian university system.
• Federal University Of Lafia
The Federal University of Lafia formerly named Federal University, Lafia is a recently established university situated in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, this was done in 2010 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration as one of the nine new federal universities established in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.
• Yusuf Maitama Sule University
Yusuf Maitama Sule University Kano is a Nigerian public university owned by the Kano State Government. It has two campuses: City Campus located in Kano, and the main campus located along General Buhari Way Kofar Ruwa Kano.
• Bauchi State University
Bauchi State University Gadau (BASUG) is a state-owned university located in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its main campus is in Gadau, with other campuses in Misau, Bauchi, and Jama’are.
• Bowen University
Bowen University is a private Baptist Christian Nigerian university owned and operated by the Nigerian Baptist Convention.
Bowen University is located at Iwo in Osun State, Nigeria, and is housed in the old 1,300-acre (6 km²) campus of the Baptist College, a teacher-training institution on a hill just outside the city.
The above list are some of the best university in Nigeria. Some of the universities in Nigeria are not listed here but will be updated.
