Ezra Olubi, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Paystack, the Nigerian payments business owned by Stripe, has been suspended in response to a claim of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate.
On Wednesday, a former romantic partner of Olubi posted personal grievances on social media, sparking the issue.
The article brought Olubi’s troubling tweets from 2009 to 2013—many of which had sexually explicit content regarding coworkers and minors—back into the spotlight.
The tweets’ reappearance sparked a public discussion on personal behavior, accountability, and the long-term effects of social media use. Since then, Olubi has stopped using his X account.
Some of the tweets, which drew widespread criticism, read, “I judge my female friends by the sound of their pee.” Thanks to the audio in my bathroom,” while another stated: “Save water. Take a bath with your neighbor’sstated, “Save daughter.”On May 23, 2011, one of the tweets said, “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it.” Today, make contact with a coworker. Inappropriately
The corporation claimed to have started a formal investigation into the issue, according to a story on TechCabal on Friday.
“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,” the company said in a confirmation statement made to TechCabal.
The firm added that it would not be offering further comments while the process is ongoing.
“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,” Paystack said.
Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade founded Paystack, a prominent Nigerian fintech company that offers online and offline payment infrastructure to companies throughout Africa, in 2015.
The firm quickly expanded to service tens of thousands of merchants after being the first Nigerian startup admitted into the esteemed Y Combinator incubator in 2016.
One of the biggest fintech exits in Nigeria occurred in 2020 when global payments behemoth Stripe paid more than $200 million to purchase Paystack.
As the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder, Olubi was instrumental in developing the technical architecture that allowed it to expand throughout Nigeria and beyond.
