Paystack Suspends Co-Founder Ezra Olubi Over Sexual Misconduct Allegation

Paystack, the Nigerian payments company owned by Stripe, has suspended its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ezra Olubi, for alleged sexual misconduct involving a junior staff member. The allegation surfaced on social media on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

The company confirmed the suspension to TechCabal, saying it has started a formal investigation into the allegation. Paystack said its board is appointing an independent investigator to ensure the process is fair and confidential. Until the investigation is over, the company says it will not comment further.

The allegation has also brought back attention to old tweets Olubi posted between 2009 and 2013. These tweets contained sexually explicit comments about colleagues, minors, and sexualised anime characters. One 2011 tweet read: “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.”

The posts resurfaced on Thursday, spreading quickly across X (formerly Twitter). Olubi has not publicly responded, and he deactivated his X account the same day.

 The situation has sparked wider discussions about workplace misconduct in Africa’s tech ecosystem. Similar cases have emerged recently, including one in Kenya where the CEO of Pawa IT Solutions was fined following sexual harassment allegations.

Paystack is one of Africa’s leading tech companies.  Founded in 2015 and acquired by Stripe in 2020 for $200 million. Because of its influence, many in the tech community are watching closely to see how the company handles this case, especially given its public focus on values such as transparency and respect.

Stripe, Paystack’s parent company, had not commented by the time of publication.