Nigeria dominated for large swatches of the evening at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui but ineffective short passes and poor shooting in front of goal denied them an avalanche of goals against a Zambian team that failed to bite.
Both teams hit the woodwork in the first period and Abubakar Abdullahi saw his efforts saved twice as Nigeria piled on the pressure.
The five-time world champions were set to take a two-goal win into their clash with Morocco on Wednesday but substitute Light Eke made light work of a penalty kick awarded two minutes into additional time and gave the goalkeeper no worries.
Nigeria’s defender Yahaya Lawali was named Man of the Match.
The Nduka Ugbade’s team will face Morocco on Wednesday before meeting South Africa in their final match of Group B on Saturday.
The four top-placed teams at the 12-nation finals will represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup.
