Ezra Olubi, Paystack Co-Founder, Falls Under The Weight Of Disturbing Allegations
· WeeTrackerEzra Olubi, Paystack Co-Founder, Falls Under The Weight Of Disturbing Allegations
By
Henry Nzekwe
| November 14, 2025
Ezra Olubi, the co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Paystack, has been suspended by the company after social media posts and new allegations of sexual misconduct forced a reckoning for one of Africa’s best-known fintech figures. Paystack confirmed the suspension to WT and said it has opened a formal investigation.
The story began this week when Amaka “Max” Mbaegbu, a US-based Nigerian finance professional with whom Olubi had been engaged in a short-lived throuple relationship that the trio were quite vocal and public about, shared worrying details across a series of written posts and audio accounts on X, alleging that Olubi had engaged in inappropriate conduct with a subordinate and describing patterns of manipulation, disturbing behaviour and verbal abuse.
The posts also prompted users to resurface a cache of decade-old messages linked to Olubi’s X account, many of which were sexually explicit and deeply troubling. Olubi deactivated his account after the material spread. Paystack moved quickly to suspend him pending the outcome of a formal review.
Paystack’s statement to WT said it takes the allegations “extremely seriously” and that Olubi has been suspended from all duties “effective immediately” while a fair and transparent investigation is carried out. The statement added that Paystack will not comment further while the review is ongoing.
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The accusations have thrust questions about leadership, culture, and accountability into the middle of a company that helped shape Nigeria’s startup scene. Paystack grew from a Lagos hackathon idea into a payments platform used by 200,000+ businesses. In October 2020, the company was acquired by US payments giant Stripe in a deal that brought global attention and capital to the region’s fintech ecosystem.
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Allegations so far have relied on social posts, screenshots, and accounts from people who say they were close to Olubi. Max, who surfaced the allegations, described herself in social posts as an ex-partner and alleged a pattern of controlling behaviour, systematic manipulation, and inappropriate relationships in his inner circle, including with a current employee.
These initial claims and the resurfaced historic posts, together, are believed to have prompted Paystack’s action. WT contacted Olubi but he had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publishing, nor had Paystack’s CEO Shola Akinlade, who has been close to Olubi since university days.
Stripe did not respond to a request for comment, while Max, who described Olubi as narcissistic and psychopathic and was deeply distraught while delivering what she said was her last public word on the matter on X Spaces last night, could not be reached for further comments.
The historic posts being circulated online cover a period roughly between 2009 and 2013 (around when now-39-year-old Olubi was in his mid-20s). Much of it is crude and offensive, containing perverted and alarming references to pedophilia, zoophilia, rape, incestuous behaviour, sexual harassment and depravity. Those resurfaced posts were the proximate cause of the online outcry that accelerated this week as the archival screenshots are being shared widely across X and other platforms. Neither Paystack nor Stripe has outlined next steps beyond Paystack’s initial announcement.
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Paystack’s founders have long presented different public faces. Akinlade, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, has typically been the outward point person for the business. Olubi, known to be a cat lover with an at times effeminate exterior, often displaying unconventional fashion preferences and a meticulous command of delicate and complex subjects, cultivated a more eccentric, maverick public persona.
He has been visible as a technologist, a social media personality, and a figure who often mixed irreverence with technical credibility. His public profile, which often came off as thoughtful and considerate on public issues, made the resurfaced material more combustible because it conflicted starkly with the image many in the tech community had of him.
For Paystack, the decisions it makes in the coming days and weeks will determine whether the company can contain the reputational fallout and reassure customers and staff.
Independent observers say companies in this position usually follow a narrow set of steps: place the individual on leave, secure evidence, offer protections to alleged victims and witnesses, and commission an impartial investigation. If breaches of policy are found, remedies can range from remedial training through to termination and referral to law enforcement where warranted.
UPDATE: Paystack has issued an update stating the company has initiated a review process led by Paystack’s
Board, adding that the Board is in the process of appointing an independent third-party investigator to ensure
the investigation is conducted fairly, thoroughly, and with full confidentiality.