Ivory Coast have been crowned Africa Cup of Nations champions despite scraping through their group and sacking their manager.
The tournament hosts were very nearly knocked out at the first hurdle after losing two of their first three games. They progressed by the skin of their teeth as the final best third-placed team.
Head coach Jean-Louis Gasset was given his P45 after that but they then knocked out Senegal on penalties, beat Mali after extra-time and downed DR Congo to face Nigeria, who they beat 2-1 in the final on Sunday (February 11) night.
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William Troost-Ekong's header in the first half once again put them behind. But Franck Kessie nodded in an equaliser after the restart to level the score.
Former West Ham striker Sebastien Haller, who missed six months of action in 2022 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, scored the winner with an excellent finish with a little under 10 minutes to go.
Nigeria had beat the Ivorians 1-0 in the group stage, but they exacted their revenge to add to their 1992 and 2015 triumphs and lift the trophy on home soil.
Former West Ham striker Haller looked to fire his side into an early lead when he flicked Simon Adingra's cross wide of Stanley Nwabali's right post, and, while the Elephants did not make much of a handful of early set-pieces, the hosts controlled more of the opening action than their more cautious opponents.
Max Gradel, playing in his fifth AFCON, sent a bicycle kick from the Ivory Coast's third corner into the side-netting, and there were little in the way of chances for Nigeria by just after the 25-minute mark, when a brief scuffle ensued after Victor Osimhen insisted he had been unduly elbowed by Evan Ndicka.
Nigeria boss Jose Peseiro was booked for a subsequent protest before temperatures and tempers were cooled with a drinks break.
The Super Eagles, seeking a fourth AFCON title, took an unlikely lead not long after Adingra called Nwabali into action with a sharp effort, when at the other end the Elephants could only half-clear a corner and ex-Watford defender Troost-Ekong looped his header past Yahia Fofana.
There was a nervy moment for Nigeria just after the break, when Nwabali stuck a hand out to block Adingra's cross, but the clearance travelled only as far as Gradel, whose shot stung the legs of Calvin Bassey and allowed time for the Nigeria keeper to make the save.
Kessie was next to push for an equaliser, sending a diving header straight at Nwabali, moments before the Nigeria shot-stopper pushed Odilon Kossounou's effort around his post.
The home crowd erupted when the hosts levelled with the resulting corner, Nigeria gifting Kessie a free header which he obligingly directed downward and past Nwabali.
Haller sent an overhead kick wide of the left post, while there looked worrying news for Nigeria when star striker Osimhen seemed to be in pain, landing awkwardly after battling Seko Fofana for the ball.
Though he had not succeeded with his earlier acrobatic effort, Haller succeeded in the 81st minute, when he diverted in Adingra's fine cross with a raised toe, securing both the trophy and his own national-hero status.
The hosts survived seven minutes of added time, clinging on for the nervy but well-deserved victory.
