Paystack confirms the termination of cofounder Ezra Olubi’s employment

Paystack has officially confirmed the termination of the employment of co-founder Ezra Olubi, effective Saturday, November 22, 2025.

The company stated that the decision was based on “significant negative reputational damage”, separate from its investigation into the misconduct allegations.

In a statement shared with Condia, the company said, “Paystack has terminated the employment of co-founder Ezra Olubi on Saturday, November 22, 2025. His recently resurfaced public tweets have caused significant negative reputational damage to the company and are not consistent with our values and with the standards we expect from anyone in a leadership position.“

The company reached this decision within two weeks of Ezra’s public scrutiny. “As a regulated company operating in multiple markets, we have a responsibility to act quickly when conduct has the potential to undermine trust. After reviewing the situation, we exercised our right under his contract and followed due process to end his employment, and we have met all financial obligations required.”

Paystack’s confirmation comes a day after Olubi took to his personal blog to break the news.

According to Olubi, the termination was handled unfairly. “This decision was taken…without any meeting, hearing, or opportunity for me to respond to the issues raised…”

Paystack, in a previous statement shared with Condia, had confirmed that it was conducting a formal investigation into the allegations of workplace misconduct. The company maintains that the decision to terminate its cofounder’s employment has nothing to do with the ongoing investigations. “This has no bearing and is separate from the independent investigation into the allegations of workplace misconduct, which remains ongoing,” reads Paystack’s recent statement.

Ezra is seeking legal advice, as he believes the termination is linked to the investigation and violates Paystack’s internal policies, which he helped create. “My legal team is now reviewing the process that led to my purported termination, including its consistency with internal policies. They will take the steps they consider appropriate, and I will not be commenting further on this matter at this time,” Olubi said.

2025: Paystack’s year of public scrutiny

Paystack, founded in 2015, is a darling of the Nigerian tech ecosystem. The company was the first from the country to get into the highly selective Y Combinator programme, and in 2020, it delivered a much-acclaimed exit, to the excitement of the ecosystem.

The company rose to the status of ecosystem darling by being a pioneer, focusing on design and product excellence and investing in ecosystem-building and knowledge-sharing activities.

However, this year, much to the chagrin of its fanbase, it has been involved in a spate of legal battles and compliance missteps.

In the first quarter of the year, it was entangled in a product trademark controversy with Zap Africa, a smaller crypto-focused startup. For Paystack, it was supposed to be a celebratory moment as they launched their first consumer app, Zap by Paystack. However, that quickly turned sour as CBN slammed them with a 250 million fine over licensing breach.

While regulatory fines are like a rite of passage in fintech, this is not something the audience is used to associating with Paystack’s name.

As the company was managing to shake that off, its cofounder got entangled in a series of sexual misconduct allegations. How will Paystack bounce back from a year such as this?

Editor’s note {Nov. 24, 16:20 (WAT)}: Article has been updated to reflect Paystack’s comment and provide additional context on the kind of year the Nigerian payments startup is having.