Purpose This study aims to critically examine the Turnitin dilemma in Nigerian higher education, exploring how plagiarism detection software, particularly Turnitin, has been institutionally deployed as a compliance gatekeeper rather than a pedagogical tool. It interrogates the implications of this deployment for university libraries, faculty practice, student learning and the newly mandated Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) programme. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a conceptual and policy-analytical approach, synthesising institutional documents, national policy directives, implementation reports and recent scholarly literature. A technical case analysis of Landmark University’s Turnitin migration is presented to illustrate administrative architecture, deployment gaps and pedagogical implications. Comparative insights from selected Nigerian universities and international implementation frameworks further inform the analysis. Findings Findings reveal a consistent pattern across Nigerian universities: Turnitin is successfully procured and technically installed but insufficiently integrated into teaching and learning processes. Implementation focuses on compliance, similarity scores and institutional credentialisation, while neglecting faculty training, disciplinary customisation, student orientation and library leadership. The NERD mandate intensifies these gaps by requiring universal anti-plagiarism verification without parallel investment in infrastructure, policy development and pedagogical support. This study identifies university libraries as strategically positioned, but underused, actors in bridging this divide. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual and document-based analysis, this study does not include primary empirical data such as interviews or survey findings. However, it provides a comprehensive synthesis that establishes a framework for future empirical investigations into faculty perceptions, student experiences and library-led integrity interventions within Nigerian and broader sub-Saharan African contexts. Practical implications This study proposes actionable strategies for Nigerian university libraries, including the development of report interpretation guides, integration of Turnitin into information literacy curricula, disciplinary customisation services, librarian certification in academic integrity technologies and formal recognition of library jurisdiction in NERD implementation. It further recommends the establishment of national implementation standards through the National Universities Commission. Social implications By reframing plagiarism detection from punitive enforcement to pedagogical engagement, this study contributes to broader debates on epistemic justice, equity in digital compliance regimes and the future of academic integrity in digitally transforming African universities. Equitable and context-sensitive implementation is essential to avoid reinforcing disciplinary bias and digital inequality. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study offers one of the first comprehensive policy and professional analyses of Turnitin implementation in the context of Nigeria’s national anti-plagiarism mandate. It shifts the discourse from technological adoption to professional jurisdiction, arguing that the path from gatekeeper to teacher is institutional and pedagogical rather than technical. This paper contributes to scholarship on academic integrity, higher education policy and the evolving role of university libraries in the Global South.
Kayode et al. (Mon,) studied this question.