Paystack, the Stripe-owned Nigerian payments company, has suspended its Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ezra Olubi, following an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate.
The controversy erupted on Wednesday after a former acquaintance of Olubi shared personal accusations on social media. The post triggered fresh scrutiny of several disturbing tweets Olubi posted between 2009 and 2013, many of which contained sexually suggestive comments about colleagues and minors.
Some of the resurfaced posts drew widespread condemnation. One tweet read, “I judge my female friends by the sound their pee make. Thanks to the audio in my bathroom.” Another stated, “Save water. Take a bath with your neighbour’s daughter.”
A tweet from May 23, 2011, read: “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.”
Olubi has since deactivated his X account. According to a report by TechCabal on Friday, Paystack confirmed that a formal investigation has begun.
“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 statement.
The firm added that it would not be releasing further comments until the review is concluded.
“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,” the statement added.
Founded in 2015 by Olubi and Shola Akinlade, Paystack is one of Africa’s leading fintech companies, providing online and offline payment infrastructure for businesses. It became the first Nigerian startup to join Y Combinator in 2016 and has since grown to serve tens of thousands of merchants.
In 2020, the company was acquired by global payments giant Stripe for over $200 million in one of the largest fintech acquisitions in Nigeria’s history.
Olubi, as CTO, played a pivotal role in developing Paystack’s core technology and scaling its operations across multiple African markets.
