The Babcock University Health Research Ethics Committee (BUHREC) upholds, reviews, and certifies all human health research to the highest international ethical standards, safeguarding participants while elevating institutional discoveries worldwide.
A cooperative covenant between investigators, academic supervisors, and the ethics committee to protect human participants and advance world-class scholarly output.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It also includes the ability to lead a socially and economically productive life.” — World Health Organization (WHO)
BUHREC evaluates all proposals touching human health under this comprehensive charter. By enforcing systems thinking and cooperative review, we ensure discoveries originating from Babcock University achieve international recognition without compromising human dignity.
Four distinct applicant cohorts undergo structured ethical appraisal:
Supervisors are the academic gatekeepers of ethical integrity. BUHREC policy mandates three non-negotiable rules:
When clinical trials, epidemiological surveys, and laboratory studies carry certified BUHREC clearance, their findings command respect in world-indexed journals (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science). Ethical integrity transforms local investigation into global scholarship.
Every proposal requesting BUHREC clearance (BSc, MSc, M.Phil, PhD, PGD, or Independent) must comprehensively satisfy these 13 structural elements before review.
A formal letter of application addressed to the BUHREC Chairman, channeled through the academic supervisor. The letter must bear the supervisor’s physical signature and the official departmental office stamp before proposal submission.
Concise, informative description of the study. Strict institutional length rules apply: 18 words is the recommended standard; 22 words may be acceptable; under no circumstance may it exceed 24 words.
Comprehensive background information contextualizing the research problem, explicit description of the study, experimental devices, animals, laboratory assays, or human observational settings.
Clearly articulated primary, secondary, and tertiary objectives. Where applicable, hypotheses and corresponding research questions must be explicitly structured to match analytical tests.
Critical synthesis of peer-reviewed literature published in reputable professional journals or academic books. Must articulate current knowledge, identify evidential gaps, and justify the ethical necessity of the new investigation.
Detailed operational design specifying where and how the study will be conducted, recruitment strategy for human participants, sample size calculation, statistical power, and total study duration.
Rigorous definition of who qualifies for recruitment:
• Inclusion Criteria: Age ranges, confirmed disease type, clinical presentation.
• Exclusion Criteria: Vulnerable groups, conflicting medical history, ongoing medication.
(Where applicable): Therapeutic regimen, dosage, route and mode of administration, formulation details, supply chain provenance, dispensing accountability, and permitted or prohibited concomitant agents.
(Where applicable): Participant enrollment and informed consent protocols, clinical and follow-up visit schedules, orderly exit protocols, biological specimen collection, biosafety handling, and disposal protocols.
(Where applicable): Real-time safety monitoring committee protocols, independent clinical data reviews, vital signs thresholds, and long-term participant follow-up mechanisms after study conclusion.
(Where applicable): Standard definitions of adverse events (AE/SAE), escalation pathways, when and how to modify oral doses, criteria for discontinuing a participant or product, and immediate medical emergency care.
Complete analytical plan detailing statistical formulae, tools (SPSS, R, STATA), data security architectures, secure archiving, de-identification/anonymization codes, and participant confidentiality agreements.
The submission binder must culminate in:
• Complete, standard-formatted List of References citing professional peer-reviewed publications.
• Official Informed Consent Form satisfying all 13 elements of the BUHREC Checklist (see verification tool below).
• Complete Instruments for Data Collection (questionnaires, interview rubrics, clinical proformas) bound in the appendix.
Missing a single consent clause is the #1 reason for BUHREC clearance deferrals. Audit your proposal’s appendix against all 13 statutory items before binding.
Check off all 13 items above as verified in your proposal draft. Once 100% complete, your Informed Consent appendix is ready for temporary binding and BUHREC office submission.
BUHREC is chartered, registered, and audited in direct alignment with the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) under the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria.
Determines standardized national guidelines and operating procedures governing the functioning of all institutional health research ethics committees across the federation.
Registers and subjects health research ethics committees to rigorous triennial audits to verify compliance with institutional and clinical trial norms.
Sets binding national norms and ethical standards for conducting experimental research on humans and animals, including pharmaceutical and clinical trials.
Adjudicates complaints regarding committee operations and impartially hears appeals from researchers alleging unfair treatment or discrimination.
Refers documented violations of ethical codes by healthcare providers to statutory regulatory bodies (MDCN, NMCN, PCN, MLSCN).
Institutes disciplinary action and sanctions against individuals or research teams found in breach of the National Health Act.
Advises the Federal Ministry of Health and State Ministries of Health on emerging bioethical questions, epidemic protocols, genomic research, and public health investigations nationwide.
Because BUHREC operates under strict NHREC accreditation, clearance certificates issued by Babcock University are recognized by national funding agencies, foreign grant bodies (NIH, Wellcome Trust, WHO), and international peer-reviewed journals.
Strict adherence to Turnitin similarity ceilings and drop-off windows is required before any application can be docketed for committee evaluation.
Final-year undergraduate projects must not exceed 20% similarity. Proposals with higher indices are rejected automatically prior to ethical review.
M.Sc., M.Phil., and Postgraduate Diploma theses require rigorous paraphrasing and synthesis with a maximum permissible threshold of 15%.
Doctoral dissertations undergo zero-tolerance originality screening. Plagiarism report must be certified by the School of Postgraduate Studies.
Every submission packet must contain all four components assembled in this order:
Four cleanly printed, spiral or tape-bound copies containing Chapters 1–3, References, and Appendices (Letter + Title + Consent + Instrument).
Full originality receipt signed by your departmental or SPGS Turnitin officer proving similarity is within the degree ceiling.
Original bank deposit teller or certified electronic payment receipt verifying the ethics committee appraisal processing fee.
A matching digital PDF version must be emailed simultaneously to buhrec@gmail.com and buhrec@babcock.edu.ng.
The BUHREC physical reception desk in Room 109, 1st Floor, SAT Building accepts binders exclusively during this weekly window. Binders dropped outside these hours will not be logged.