Ezra Olubi, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Paystack, the Nigerian payments business acquired 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 language 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.
"I judge my female friends by the sound of their pee make" was one of the unearthed tweets that received a lot of backlash. "I'm grateful for the audio in my bathroom," said one person, while another said, "Conserve water." Take a bath with the daughter of your neighbor.
On May 23, 2011, one of the tweets said, "Monday will be more fun with a 'a in it." Today, make contact with a coworker. Inappropriately
The corporation claimed to have launched an official investigation into the issue, according to a TechCabal story on Friday.
Paystack is aware of the accusations made against Ezra Olubi, one of our co-founders. We take these kinds of issues very seriously. In a confirmation statement sent to TechCabal, the business said, "Ezra has been suspended from all duties and responsibilities effective immediately pending the outcome of a formal investigation."
The company also stated that while the process is continuing, it would not be making any more remarks.
"We will not be commenting further until the investigation is completed out of respect for the individuals involved and to protect the integrity of the process," Paystack stated.
Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade created Paystack, a prominent Nigerian fintech startup that offers online and offline payment infrastructure to companies throughout Africa, in 2015.
The business 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.
