Monaco's Emmanuel Adebayor converted both spot kicks as Togo won 4-1 to go two points clear at the top of Group One after 2002 World Cup quarter-finalists Senegal were held to a goalless draw by the Congo in Brazzaville.
Zambia are three points behind the leaders after having coach Kalusha Bwalya sent off during the match. The Moroccan referee Mohamed Guezzaz had to be protected by police from remonstrating Zambian players at the end of the match.
Togo were the only side to take over as new group leaders after the weekend's round of matches but Nigeria have lost their advantage in Group Four and now share top place with Angola.
Obefami Martins rescued Nigeria with the equaliser in the 79th minute against modest Rwanda, who had threatened to pull off yet another major upset.
Jimmy Gatete's blazing individual effort put the tiny east African country in the lead eight minutes into the second half before Inter Milan striker Martins rescued the Super Eagles on the counter-attack.
Angola's 2-1 win over Algeria put them also on 14 points with goals from Amado Flavio and Fabrice Akwa before Benfica's Mantorras made a fleeting appearance as a second-half substitute to the delight of the small crowd at the Cidadela stadium. It was his first game in more than three years for his country.
Zimbabwe won a second successive home game 1-0 against Gabon to leap back into contention although it took a penalty midway through the second half from captain Peter Ndlovu to secure the points. They are three points behind Angola and Nigeria.
THUMPING
Egypt, too, kept themselves alive in Group Three with a 6-1 thumping of Sudan in Cairo on Sunday night, including a pair of goals each for Abdelhalim Ali and Amr Zaki.
Egypt are now only three points behind group leaders the Ivory Coast and two behind second-placed Cameroon.
Guinea's 1-0 home win over Kenya in Conakry has them still in contention in Group Five, trailing leaders Morocco by four points.
Standard Liege striker Sambegou Bangoura scored the only goal in the second half.
In Group Two, both Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo kept up the pressure on group leaders South Africa with home wins.
Ghana had to come from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Kumasi while Shabani Nonda scored twice as the Congolese disposed of Uganda 4-0 in Kinshasa.
Both Ghana and the Congolese are three points behind South Africa, who had won away in the Cape Verde Islands on Saturday.
Only the group winners qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany but the first three sides in each group will go to the 2006 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt.
The next round of qualifiers will be played on the weekend of June 18-19.
