Open access journals in Nigeria are easier to find, read and publish in than most researchers realise — if you know where to look. This guide brings together the directories, discipline-by-discipline lists, free publishing routes and safety checks you need, whether you are a student hunting for sources or an academic deciding where to submit your next paper.
What open access means for Nigerian researchers
Open access (OA) means scholarly work that is free to read online, without a subscription or paywall.[1] For Nigerian students and researchers — often working with limited library budgets and expensive data — OA is not a nicety but the main route to current scholarship. A large and rising share of the world’s research is now open access,[2] and Nigeria has a growing body of its own OA journals across every field.
Where to find Nigerian open-access journals
- FRELIP Discovery — search across a large index of open-access journal articles, theses and dissertations in one place, and follow links straight to the full text. Free, no account needed.
- African Journals Online (AJOL) — the largest collection of African-published journals, including hundreds from Nigeria; many are fully open access. Filter by country to focus on Nigerian titles.
- DOAJ — the Directory of Open Access Journals lets you filter by country to list vetted, fully open-access Nigerian journals. Inclusion in DOAJ is also a useful sign that a journal is legitimate.
- FRELIP journal feeds — browse live open-access journal feeds organised by discipline, so you can follow new articles in your field as they appear.
Nigerian open-access journals by discipline
The fastest way to find relevant work is to start from your field. FRELIP organises open-access journal feeds across nine broad disciplines — agriculture and life systems, arts and humanities, education, environmental science, law, medical and health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and technology and engineering — each with its own subject feeds. Browse the discipline feeds to see open-access journals and recent articles grouped by subject, then click through to read the full text at the source.
How to publish your work open access in Nigeria — for free
A common myth is that open-access publishing always costs money. It does not. Many reputable journals are “diamond” open access: free to read and free to publish, with no article processing charge (APC) to the author. Where a journal does charge an APC, waiver and discount programmes exist for researchers in lower-income countries.
- Use the DOAJ filter for “without fees” to find no-APC open-access journals in your field.
- Check AJOL for Nigerian and African journals, many of which charge little or nothing.
- Ask about APC waivers — many publishers offer automatic or on-request waivers for authors based in eligible countries.
Before submitting anywhere, make sure the journal is genuine: see our guide on how to spot predatory journals.
How to avoid predatory journals
The pressure to publish makes Nigerian academics a frequent target for predatory journals — outlets that take an author’s fee but provide no real peer review.[3] Before you submit, confirm the journal in DOAJ, run it through Think. Check. Submit., and watch for warning signs such as fake impact factors, guaranteed acceptance and hidden fees. Our 15-point predatory-journal checklist walks through every red flag.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best open access journals in Nigeria?
The “best” depends on your field. Rather than a single list, use DOAJ (filtered to Nigeria) and AJOL to find vetted open-access journals in your discipline, and FRELIP’s discipline feeds to follow new articles. Always confirm a journal is indexed in DOAJ before relying on or submitting to it.
Are Nigerian open-access journals credible?
Many are — credibility comes from peer review and transparency, not from being open access or Nigerian. Look for inclusion in DOAJ or AJOL, a clear peer-review process, and membership of COPE. Avoid journals showing the predatory warning signs in our checklist.
Can I publish open access in Nigeria without paying?
Yes. Diamond open-access journals charge authors nothing, and APC waivers are available from many publishers for researchers in lower-income countries. Use the DOAJ “without fees” filter to find no-APC options.
References
- Suber P. (2012). Open Access. MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/9286.001.0001
- Piwowar H, Priem J, Larivière V, et al. (2018). The state of OA: a large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles. PeerJ 6:e4375. doi:10.7717/peerj.4375
- Xia J, Harmon JL, Connolly KG, et al. (2015). Who publishes in “predatory” journals? J Assoc Inf Sci Technol 66(7):1406–1417. doi:10.1002/asi.23265
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). doaj.org
- African Journals Online (AJOL). ajol.info
- FRELIP. The State of Open Access in Africa. frelip.org
Start here. Search FRELIP Discovery for open-access research, or browse Nigerian and African journal feeds by discipline. New to this? Read how to download research papers for free (legally).
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