Paystack, a Nigerian financial giant and titan owned by Stripe and founded in 2015, has fired its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ezra Olubi, following a shocking workplace sexual misconduct and assault which claim to have surfaced on social media on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
In a statement from a media power house explained how Olubi landed in hot water, after the fintech company confirmed that Olubi had been suspended and that a formal and official investigation into the charges involving a subordinate had begun. It is also claimed that this has gone viral on social media since November 12.
The online tempest has also renewed investigation of other decade-old tweets associated with Olubi, including sexually explicit statements addressing colleagues and youngsters, which have sparked outrage and heated public debate.
The members of the press stated that it had contacted Olubi via email for remarks, but he had not answered as of the time of posting the report.
“Paystack is aware of the allegations made against the co-founder, Ezra Olubi,” the company said in a statement to the members of the press.
“We take matters of this nature very seriously.” Ezra has been suspended from all tasks and responsibilities with immediate effect, pending the conclusion of a full investigation.”
“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 informed reporters.
Between 2009 and 2013, Olubi posted a series of tweets loaded with sexually explicit comments about colleagues, mentioned obtaining erections during meetings, expressed want to photograph a coworker’s thighs, and made statements about children and sexualised anime characters.
On May 23, 2011, someone tweeted, “Monday will be more fun with a ‘a’ in it.” Today, give a coworker a touch. Inappropriately
The earlier posts, which were published years before he co-founded Paystack, reappeared on Thursday and quickly went viral on X, sparking fresh indignation.
As Paystack investigates the misconduct claim, their reappearance has increased public scrutiny, sparking a broader discussion about workplace boundaries and the behaviour expected of senior players in the digital industry.
Paystack stated that it had implemented a “fair, transparent, and structured” review procedure to undertake a full examination.
The payment firm claim that it is consistent with its corporate policies and this process is guided by our policies, our values, and our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all employees, as the company further explained.
Regarding the tweets and the allegation of sexual misconduct, Olubi has not yet made a public statement.
On Wednesday, November 13, 2025, he also closed his X account.
In an industry that has had to deal with numerous instances of workplace misbehaviour involving tech leaders over the past few years, Olubi’s tweets reemerge.
More recently, in October, the country’s Employment and Labour Relations Court punished Oscar Limoke, CEO of Kenyan IT business Pawa IT Solutions, for sexual harassment and assault claims that led a staff member to retire.
Paystack is one of Africa’s leading IT companies. Founded in 2015, it was one of Y-Combinator’s first African investments, and its $200 million acquisition in 2020 remains one of the continent’s most significant exits. Its graduates have gone on to establish firms in logistics, fintech, and financial infrastructure.
Because of Paystack’s size, impact, and close relationship with global payments giant Stripe, the conduct of this probe will be widely scrutinised by the industry. It raises serious concerns about high-trust organisations’ governance, how charges against senior leadership are handled, and what standards employees and the public should expect from companies that claim to be value-driven.
Paystack has long highlighted characteristics like honesty, straightforward communication, and kindness in their public employer-brand messaging and reviews from former employees. Despite being more than a decade old, the rediscovered tweets have raised questions about how senior executives exemplify those commitments and how consistently those ideals are upheld in practice.
Olubi’s suspension comes in the midst of growing public concern about child sexual abuse in Nigeria. Both serious and minor-involved incidents have sparked public outcry and revealed weaknesses in existing law enforcement.
The Nigerian Senate has further reinforced by strengthening its country’s legal framework against child sexual abuse by amending the Criminal Code Act to mandate life imprisonment for anyone found guilty of defiling a minor. The modifications were approved on October 21 as part of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (HB. 151), a concurrent bill earlier passed by the House of Representatives.
The changes eliminate the option of fines for defiling a juvenile and raise the punishment for sexual offences against children. Anyone found guilty of defiling a minor, regardless of gender, must now face life imprisonment. The measure also establishes a ten-year minimum punishment for rape, broadening it to encompass both male and female abusers.
Furthermore, the statute of limitations on defilement has been repealed, making such offences punishable regardless of when they occurred. Gender bias in the definition of rape has also been removed, allowing both men and women to be prosecuted under the same laws.
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