Stephen Keshi's men lifted the trophy for the third time in 2013 with a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso and will meet the hosts of that tournament, South Africa, in qualifying for the 2015 competition.
The two sides are joined by Sudan in Group A, with a final place to be taken by a qualifier from the preliminary rounds in the form of Namibia, Congo, Libya or Rwanda.
Burkina Faso face matches against Angola and Gabon in Group C, and could be joined by Liberia, Lesotho, Kenya or Comoros.
Ivory Coast and Cameroon, who will join Nigeria at this year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, were drawn together in Group D of qualifying alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ghana - another nation heading to the World Cup - face West African rivals Togo in Group E, while Algeria, Africa's other representative in Brazil, have games against Mali and Ethiopia to look forward to in Group B.
Seven-time winners Egypt will face Tunisia and Senegal in Group G.
Africa Cup of Nations 2015 qualifying draw in full:
Group A: Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan plus one of Namibia, Congo, Libya and Rwanda
Group B: Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia plus one of Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, Malawi and Chad
Group C: Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon plus one of Liberia, Lesotho, Kenya and Comoros
Group D: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo plus one of Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Seychelles
Group E: Ghana, Togo, Guinea plus one of Madagascar, Uganda, Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea
Group F: Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger plus one of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Sudan
Group G: Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal plus one of Burundi, Botswana, Central African Republic and Guinea Bissau.
