LAGOS, NIGERIA—Nigeria’s president is ordering a forensic audit into some $20 billion allegedly missing from the petroleum earnings of Africa’s biggest oil producer.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s announcement follows weeks of outrage expressed online by Nigerians complaining that previous investigations of billions in missing public funds have been shelved with no one held accountable and no money recovered.

Jonathan also denied charges by ousted Central Bank Gov. Lamido Sanusi that the money has gone to a cabal to fund the February 2015 presidential and legislative elections.

A statement from Jonathan’s office dated Wednesday repeated that Sanusi’s suspension last month was unconnected to his whistle-blowing and insisted his charges about the “phantom missing funds” are unfounded. Sanusi alerted Jonathan to the missing funds in a September letter that was leaked to the press.

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