Senegal thus finished on four points, a point more than third-placed Cote d’Ivoire.
Cote d’Ivoire took the lead after just five minutes through Degbole Niangbo, who fired home from a long ball which beat the Nigeria defence completely.
However, the Flying Eagles drew level in the 27th minute when Obinna Nwobodo set up Christian Pyagbara from the left side, who slotted past onrushing goalkeeper Seck Diagbate.
The Ivorians went ahead again through big striker Chris Bile Bedia in the 33rd minute when the Nigeria defence again went to sleep.
Skipper Musa Muhammed drew Nigeria level after 68 minutes from the penalty spot after Mustapha was felled inside the box by an Ivorian defender.
Yakou Meite had a chance in the 83rd minute to regain Cote d’Ivoire but his shot from inside the box flew wide off target.
And four minutes later, Nigeria suffered another scare when Ojo came off his lines but Bedie could not finish off the move.
''It is very normal that the match was tough because we played against a team that was looking for qualification. My players fought back twice in the game. It was a very tough game given the intensity level of both teams. For this game, I wanted to give a chance to players who had not played yet, and affected our start. Our goal is to win every game. We still have two games to play and we hope to win both. It's a shame that Côte d'Ivoire is eliminated after playing so well. Personally, I’m impressed with the level of the competition and we have seen some good players;'' coach Manu Garba said.
''It was a difficult game, but we were prepared for such a clash. We came from behind twice, but the main thing was not to lose, which we did. Now, we will focus on the semi-final. Our first goal was to qualify for the World Cup, which we have already. The second is to win the tournament and finish the job well,'' Idowu Akinjide explained.
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