Paystack Suspends Co-founder, Ezra Olubi, Over Misconduct, Nigerians Dip up ‘Dirty’ Tweets
- One of Nigeria’s biggest payment company, Paystack has been thrown into a controversy involving one of its co-founders
- The company confirmed that it has suspended Ezra Olubi, one of the co-founders over sexual misconduct involving a colleague
- Paystack was acquired by a global payment company, Stripe, in a multi-million dollar deal
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Paystack has suspended its co-founder and chief technology officer, Ezra Olubi, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate.
The claims surfaced on social media on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, and quickly gathered momentum as the company confirmed it had opened a formal review.
Source: UGC
The suspension, reported by TechCabal, marks one of the most serious leadership crises the payment company has faced since its founding.
Company launches formal investigation
In a statement issued on Thursday, November 13, Paystack said its board had activated a review process in line with its internal policies.
The company explained that an independent third-party investigator would oversee the inquiry to ensure fairness and confidentiality.
Paystack stressed that it would not provide further comments while the investigation was ongoing, underscoring its intention to protect the integrity of the process.
The development has brought renewed attention to public behaviour from senior figures in the African tech space, especially in companies that champion strong internal cultures.
Old tweets resurface as scrutiny intensifies
Alongside the misconduct allegation, several decade-old tweets by Olubi resurfaced on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
The posts, made between 2009 and 2013, contained sexually charged comments about colleagues, descriptions of erections during professional settings, and remarks involving minors and sexualised anime characters.
One tweet from May 23, 2011, read, “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately."
The tweets spread rapidly across X, sparking debate about professional boundaries and the expectations placed on leaders who shape workplace culture.
The circulation of the posts has amplified public attention around the allegations and heightened calls for accountability across the tech ecosystem.
Olubi has not commented publicly and deactivated his X account on Thursday.
A sector confronting Its Own Culture
The controversy comes at a time when the African tech community has faced a string of misconduct cases involving executives.
Only weeks earlier, a Kenyan court fined the CEO of Pawa IT Solutions, Oscar Limoke, following sexual harassment allegations that led to an employee’s resignation.
These incidents have intensified conversations about how companies enforce codes of conduct and respond when reputational risks arise at the leadership level.
Why Paystack’s response matters
Paystack’s position in African technology gives this case particular weight. Founded in 2015, the company became one of Y-Combinator’s earliest African bets and later secured a landmark $200 million acquisition by Stripe in 2020.
The company’s alumni have gone on to found or lead startups in sectors ranging from logistics to financial infrastructure. This influence makes its crisis response a point of close observation across the industry.
Source: UGC
Stripe has not issued a statement on the matter. Meanwhile, Paystack reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a safe workplace and said the review underway is guided by its values and internal governance principles.
The outcome of the investigation is expected to shape broader conversations about leadership accountability in Africa’s fast-growing tech sector.
CBN allegedly fines Paystack N250 Million
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allegedly fined Paystack N250 million for operating Zap, the company’s peer-to-peer payment app, as a wallet in violation of its regulatory licence.
CBN flagged the new platform as a deposit-taking product, a function of microfinance or a banking license.
Zap, which was launched in March, allows users to send and receive money, making it a consumer-facing digital wallet.
Source: Legit.ng
