I HAVE BEEN TREATED AND FIRED UNFAIRLY- PAYSTACK CO-FOUNDER

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BY JENN NOMAMIUKOR

Ezra Olubi, co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Paystack, has announced that he was fired by the company due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Olubi has stated that his dismissal was unfair.

He shared this development in a blog post published on Saturday, 23 November 2025.

The controversy started in mid-November 2025 when a social media post accusing Olubi of abusive behavior went viral. This led to further scrutiny online, where users uncovered explicit tweets from Olubi dating between 2009 and 2013, which fueled widespread criticism.

Following the allegation, Paystack confirmed that it had suspended Olubi and opened a formal investigation, stating that it had set up a review process and intended to appoint an independent investigator.

However, in his blog post titled Terminated, Olubi said he was dismissed while the investigation was still ongoing and without an opportunity to defend himself.

“Over the past few days, my name and reputation, built over years as co-founder and technical leader at Paystack, have been called into question because of information circulating online,” he wrote.

He said the company’s board suspended him and initiated what it described as an “independent” investigation, prompting him to remain silent.

“Once that process began, I chose not to make any public statements. I did this to avoid interfering with the investigation and because I expected a fair, thorough and unbiased review of the allegations being discussed online,” he wrote.

Olubi added that he was not granted a hearing before the company ended his contract.

He stated,” I was not given a meeting or an opportunity to respond before my contract was ended,” adding that the termination “appeared to contravene the terms of [his] suspension and the company’s internal policies.”

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He suggested the silence during the investigation allowed “assumptions and misrepresentations to spread without challenge.”

Olubi insisted that the resurfaced tweets do not reflect his conduct.

“Those who know me personally or professionally understand that the posts being circulated do not reflect my conduct or the way I have lived my life.

He concluded that his legal team would “explore possible steps in response.”

The allegation surfaced after an individual who had a previous relationship with Olubi posted personal complaints online.

This led to renewed scrutiny of several explicit tweets Olubi wrote between 2009 and 2013, many of which contained sexually suggestive comments involving colleagues and minors. He has since deactivated his X account.

Founded in 2015 by Olubi and Shola Akinlade, Paystack is a leading African payments company.

It became the first Nigerian startup accepted into Y Combinator in 2016 and was acquired by Stripe in 2020 for more than $200 million.