The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership has urged the police to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations levelled against Paystack co-founder, Ezra Olubi, following his suspension by the company over sexual misconduct allegations.
There was public outrage on Friday after the Stripe-owned Nigerian payments company announced Olubi’s suspension over alleged sexual misconduct involving a subordinate.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the controversy began on Wednesday after a woman who once had a relationship with Olubi went online to air personal grievances against him.
The post drew attention to a series of old tweets allegedly linked to Olubi, dating back to 2009 and 2013, which users said contained sexually suggestive remarks involving colleagues and minors.
The posts stirred fresh arguments about accountability, personal conduct, and how old social-media activity can haunt public figures. Olubi has now deactivated his X account.
Some of the resurfaced tweets drew widespread criticism, with one reading: “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.”
One of the tweets, posted on May 23, 2011, read: “Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.”
TechCabal reported on Friday that the company said it had opened a formal probe into the matter.
“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 company said in a confirmation statement made to TechCabal.
The firm added that it would not be offering further comments while the process is ongoing.
“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 said.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, CACOL Executive Director, Debo Adeniran, said the allegations, going by the outrage they have generated on social media, raise serious moral and criminal concerns.
Adeniran described the situation as “moral corruption,” insisting that anyone holding an executive position must be “above board in all his or her conduct.”
He said while consensual relationships between adults might not constitute a criminal offence, the narrative changes entirely if minors are involved.
“If it is with minors, anybody under 18, then it is a criminal offence. No matter how it happens, once it involves an underage girl, the police should step in and ensure justice is done,” he said.
Adeniran added that a minor cannot, under the law, be held responsible for such encounters.
“A minor is not capable of seducing an adult who is conscious of his integrity. So basically, that is a criminal offence that the police should step in and deal with,” he added.
Adeniran faulted any delay by the company in notifying authorities if underage victims were involved.
“The company itself should have even handed him over to the police for investigation without waiting for parents or guardians of the minor to complain,” he said.
He maintained that a thorough police probe is necessary, both to establish the facts and to ensure accountability where any criminal breaches are confirmed.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the allegations, still unproven and under investigation by Paystack, sparked a wave of public reaction on Friday, with many X users responding to resurfaced old tweets and claims of personal misconduct.
A Presidential aide on Research and Analytics, Gimba Kakanda, in a tweet on his X handle, critiqued the cultural narrative around unconventional genius in light of the ongoing allegations against Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi, saying people like him are shaped by pop-culture socialisation that suggests one cannot be a genius unless they deviate from established patterns of behaviour.
An X user, @EmperorTwiTs, described Olubi as a disgrace to the nation and a reflection of declining moral standards in the context of his 2022 national honour.
He posted:
“Should we now say there was little or no scrutiny before he was conferred a national honour? Or do we pretend not to know what kind of image this paints for the country? If the Presidency had known earlier, would he still have been honoured?
“Or do we separate personal conduct from professional brilliance when it comes to celebrating national achievers? And now that these revelations are out, will the Presidency quietly distance itself, knowing that a holder of one of the country’s second-highest orders of merit is found wanting in character? These questions have been running through my mind.”
Another X user, @realanitaoluwo, offered a personal interpretation of Olubi’s character based on public images and the allegations, writing:
“Ezra Olubi is a textbook example of a sociopath. Key traits of a sociopath: Lack of empathy, manipulative, deceitful, impulsive, charming on the surface, little or no guilt, no remorse. Just pay attention to his eyes in all his pictures; they are literally empty, no emotions.”
