The co-founder of Paystack, Ezra Olubi, is facing intense backlash after old tweets referencing paedophilia and bestiality went viral.
The controversy began when Max ‘Makispoke’ Obae, a US-based entrepreneur, alleged misogynistic behaviour by Olubi during an X Space session titled “My Piece.” Obae claimed she met Olubi in Ikeja, Lagos, when she was 19 through a mutual friend. For years they remained distant X (Twitter) mutuals.
The relationship shifted in 2016 when Olubi visited her in New York. She said she believed he was queer and feminist based on his “presentation.” At that time she was mainly dating women and wasn’t interested in him romantically.
In the summer of 2023, Obae reconnected with Olubi in Lagos. She and her wife proposed a consensual non-monogamous relationship (“polycule”) that would include Olubi. Olubi reportedly agreed. But the relationship allegedly deteriorated when she found out Olubi was sexually involved with a female subordinate and described his behaviour after their first sexual encounter as “extremely rude” and “hostile”. She described what she perceived as cult-leader-like behaviour in his inner circle.
Shortly afterwards, a flood of old tweets from a now-deactivated account belonging to Olubi surfaced. These posts included extremely disturbing statements—such as attraction to “young, innocent, and clueless” girls, comments about being “deprived of watching 16-year-olds’ nudes,” and claims of having sex with his cat and a squirrel.
The tweets triggered widespread outrage on X (formerly Twitter). One user demanded Olubi’s arrest, calling him “a pedophile and misogynist.”
There are reports that Paystack has suspended Olubi pending an internal investigation into alleged sexual misconduct involving a subordinate. A petition has also been launched asking the Nigerian federal government to review the national honour (OON) previously awarded to him.
