Paystack suspends Co-founder Ezra Olubi

Nigerian fintech company Paystack has suspended its co-founder, Ezra Olubi, following the resurfacing of controversial tweets attributed to him.

Some of the tweets have drawn widespread criticism, including one that read: “I judge my female friends by the sound of their pee make. Thanks to the audio in my bathroom,” while another stated: “Save water. Take a bath with your neighbour’s daughter.” Another tweet, posted on May 23, 2011, read: “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.”

According to a report by TechCabal on Friday, Paystack confirmed it had opened a formal investigation into the matter.

In a statement to TechCabal, the company said: “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 firm added that it would not offer further comments while the investigation is ongoing, 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.”

Founded in 2015 by Olubi and Shola Akinlade, Paystack is a leading Nigerian fintech company providing online and offline payment infrastructure to businesses across Africa. The company became the first Nigerian startup accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator in 2016 and quickly scaled to serve tens of thousands of merchants.

In 2020, Paystack was acquired by global payments firm Stripe for over US$200 million, marking one of Nigeria’s largest fintech exits. Olubi, as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, was instrumental in developing the company’s technology architecture and scaling its operations across Nigeria and beyond.