By: ThinkBusiness Africa
Paystack, one of Africa’s leading fintech giants and a subsidiary of U.S. payments company Stripe, has suspended its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Ezra Olubi on Friday, following a major social media controversy involving allegations of sexual misconduct and the resurfacing of explicit, decade-old posts.
The suspension, confirmed by the company on Friday, is effective immediately, pending the outcome of a formal internal investigation.
The controversy erupted on Thursday after an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate began circulating online. This heightened scrutiny led social media users to revisit Olubi’s past digital footprint, unraveling series of inappropriate and sexually explicit tweets dating back to between 2009 and 2013.
“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 fintech giant said.
The company emphasized that it would not comment further until the inquiry is concluded, stating, “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 added.
The most damaging element of the crisis stems from screenshots of Olubi’s previous social media activity, which quickly went viral.
Following the intense public backlash and the spread of the screenshots, Olubi deactivated his X (formerly Twitter) account. He has not issued a public statement regarding the suspension or the contents of the resurfaced posts.
Paystack was acquired by the U.S. payments giant, Stripe, in a deal reportedly valued at over $200 million, in October 2020,
In July 2024, Paystack announced that businesses in Nigeria processed over N1 trillion (Naira) in transactions in a single month for the first time ever.
The fintech giant is now trusted by over 200,000 businesses across Africa. 2023/2024, when Bank Transfers became the most popular payment channel in Nigeria, accounting for over 66% of transactions on the platform.
Olubi, is a prominent figure in the Nigerian tech scene, was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the late Nigerian president Mohammed Buhari.
