Paystack has suspended its co-founder and chief technology officer, Ezra Olubi, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate. The allegation began circulating on social media on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, and quickly attracted wide attention. The company confirmed the suspension, stating it has opened a formal investigation into the claims, a move that has generated major discussion across Nigeria’s fintech sector and the global payments industry.
In its statement, the company said, “Paystack is aware of the allegations involving our Co-founder, Ezra Olubi. We take matters of this nature extremely seriously. Effective immediately, Ezra has been suspended from all duties and responsibilities pending the outcome of a formal investigation.” Paystack added that, “Out of respect for the individuals involved and to protect the integrity of the process, we will not be commenting further until the investigation is complete.” This announcement gained strong traction as users across digital platforms revisited Olubi’s past activity online.
The allegation also revived dozens of decade-old tweets shared between 2009 and 2013, including sexually explicit jokes about colleagues, comments describing physical reactions during meetings, and posts referring to minors and sexualised anime characters. The old posts resurfaced on Thursday and spread rapidly across X, with many users questioning the culture of accountability within the tech ecosystem.
One archived tweet from May 23, 2011, read: “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.” A screenshot of another resurfaced tweet included censored content about a young girl and a reference to an offensive claim about minors. These tweets, originally posted years before he co-founded Paystack, have now become central to the public discussion. In response to the renewed attention, Olubi deactivated his X account on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
Paystack, which was founded in 2015, is one of Africa’s most influential fintech companies and is widely recognised for its role in expanding digital payments across the continent. The company became one of Y-Combinator’s earliest African investments, and its 2020 acquisition by Stripe for $200 million remains one of the biggest exits in African tech history. Many of its alumni have gone on to build companies in logistics, fintech, and financial infrastructure, leading to strong coverage across global business and financial news platforms.
“In line with our internal policies, we have established a fair, transparent, and structured review process to conduct a thorough investigation,” Paystack said. “This process is guided by our policies, our values, and our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all employees.”
Olubi previously received the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger from former President Muhammadu Buhari. He was among 450 recipients at the time, bringing the total number of national honours awardees to 5,341 since 1963. This is a developing story.
