Decentralized Access Control Using Blockchain for Academic Publishing Repositories in Higher Institutions in Nigeria

Academic publishing repositories in developing nations often face severe challenges in enforcing secure and transparent access control, exacerbated by centralized authority, weak audit trails, and data manipulation risks. This research proposes a decentralized access control system using Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and smart contracts to ensure secure, transparent, and tamper-proof data access in academic repositories. Using a constructive research methodology, the study develops and evaluates a blockchain-integrated framework tailored for repositories like DSpace. The methodology includes model-driven engineering, smart contract development in GoLang, PKI-based identity control, and simulation via Dockerized microservices. Empirical evaluation reveals superior performance: 250ms transaction latency, 70 TPS throughput, and complete prevention of unauthorized access attempts, outperforming centralized models. Security analysis and user surveys among repository stakeholders indicate enhanced transparency, trust, and system usability. The findings demonstrated that decentralized models significantly improve access control without compromising usability. The research contributes both theoretically and practically to secure scholarly communication in Nigeria. It aligns with evolving open access initiatives, builds local technical capacity, and proposes a replicable model for enhancing repository trustworthiness across universities in Nigeria. Future work can explore scalable, privacy-preserving extensions and AI-driven smart contract automation.