Paystack suspends co-founder, Ezra Olubi, over sexual misconduct allegation

Paystack, the Stripe-owned Nigerian payments startup, has suspended its co-founder and chief technology officer, Ezra Olubi, for alleged sexual misconduct involving a subordinate. The allegation began circulating on social media on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. The company confirmed the suspension to TechCabal, saying it has opened a formal investigation into the allegations. 

The allegation has also brought renewed attention to dozens of decade-old tweets, including sexually explicit posts about colleagues and minors. TechCabal contacted Olubi for comments via email; he had not responded by the time of filing this report. 

“Paystack is aware of the allegations involving our Co-founder, Ezra Olubi,” the company told TechCabal in a statement. “As of Thursday evening,
November 13, 2025, Ezra has been suspended from all duties and responsibilities pending a formal investigation.”

The company said it has initiated a review process led by its board in line with its internal policies: “The Board is in the process of appointing an independent third-party investigator to ensure the investigation is conducted fairly, thoroughly, and with full confidentiality.”

“To protect the integrity of this process, we will not be commenting further until the investigation is complete,” Paystack said.

Between 2009 and 2013, Olubi posted several tweets containing sexually explicit comments about colleagues, described erections during meetings, referenced wanting to photograph a coworker’s thighs, and made comments 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.” 

A screenshot of Olubi’s tweet making a sexually explicit comment about a coworker.

A screenshot of Olubi’s tweet making a sexually explicit comment about a minor.

Another Olubi’s tweet made a sexually explicit comment about minors.

The tweets, posted years before he co-founded Paystack, resurfaced on Thursday and quickly spread across X. Their renewed circulation has intensified public scrutiny as the company investigates the allegation, fuelling broader discussion about workplace boundaries and expectations of behaviour from senior leaders in the ecosystem. Olubi has not publicly addressed the tweets or allegations of sexual misconduct. He also deactivated his X account on Thursday, November 13, 2025.

Olubi’s tweets resurface in an ecosystem that has had to confront multiple incidents of workplace misconduct involving tech leaders in the past few years. More recently, in October, Oscar Limoke, the CEO of Kenyan IT firm Pawa IT Solutions, was fined by the country’s Employment and Labour Relations Court over sexual harassment and assault allegations that forced a staff member to resign. 

Paystack is one of Africa’s most significant technology companies. Founded in 2015, it became one of Y-Combinator’s earliest African investments, and its 2020 acquisition for $200 million remains one of the continent’s most significant exits. Its alumni have gone on to found startups across logistics, fintech, and financial infrastructure. 

Because of Paystack’s size, influence, and close association with global payments giant Stripe, the handling of this investigation will be closely watched across the sector. It raises questions about governance in high-trust companies, how allegations involving senior leadership are managed, and what standards employees and the public should expect from companies that describe themselves as value-driven. 

TechCabal also reached out to Stripe, Paystack’s parent company, for comment. The company had not responded by the time of publication.

Paystack has long emphasised values such as transparency, clear communication, and kindness in its public employer-brand messaging and reviews from former staff. The resurfaced tweets, despite being more than a decade old, have prompted scrutiny of how senior leaders embody those commitments and how consistently such values are upheld in practice.

“In line with our internal policies, we have established a fair, transparent, and structured review process to conduct a thorough investigation,” Paystack added. “This process is guided by our policies, our values, and our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all employees.”

This is a developing story.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:58 AM WAT to reflect Paystack’s revised statement.