Ousted Paystack Co-Founder Ezra Olubi Sues For Defamation, Demands USD 100 K

When Ezra Olubi, the former chief technology officer and co-founder of Nigerian fintech giant Paystack, was booted from the company last year, he expressed that the decision had flouted due process and mentioned his legal team would take appropriate steps.

Some type of legal action was thus anticipated, and legal action has now occurred, alright, just not one many might have expected.

In something of a surprising move, Olubi has initiated legal action against prominent investigative journalist David Hundeyin, alleging a series of social media posts amounted to defamation and caused severe reputational harm.

In a formal pre-action letter shared by Hundeyin on his X account on Monday, Olubi’s legal representatives demand the removal of the posts, a published apology, and NGN 140 M (approximately USD 100 K) in compensation. This move marks Olubi’s first significant action to become public following his controversial termination from Paystack in November 2025.

The legal notice centres on two posts published by Hundeyin on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on December 6, 2025. In the posts, Hundeyin drew comparisons between Olubi and the American music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has faced multiple lawsuits alleging sexual assault and sex trafficking, and is currently serving time.

Hundeyin’s posts, which were viewed millions of times according to the letter, alleged Olubi shared with Combs a “broken childhood,” a “God complex,” an “absence of consequences,” and “the same sexual perversion.” One post concluded by stating Hundeyin was “willing to bet a good sum of money that Ezra is a drug addict as well.”

Olubi’s lawyers argue these statements were meant to portray their client as “dangerous,” “egotistical,” “sexually perverse,” and a “drug addict,” claims they state are “untrue and unsubstantiated.”

The lawsuit emerges from the fallout of Olubi’s abrupt departure from Paystack, the company he helped build and which was acquired by U.S. payments leader Stripe in 2020 for over USD 200 M.

Back in November, Paystack suspended and then fired Olubi following the viral resurfacing of sexually explicit and disturbing decade-old posts from his X account, coupled with new allegations of misconduct from a former partner. The company stated his termination was due to “significant negative reputational damage” caused by the old tweets.

However, Olubi publicly contested the process. In a blog post at the time, he stated Paystack’s board fired him before an independent investigation into separate workplace misconduct claims was complete and without granting him a hearing. He called this a “clear contravention” of company policy and indicated his lawyers were reviewing the termination.

The pre-action letter gives Hundeyin seven days to comply with four key demands: Permanently delete the identified posts from X; provide a written pledge to never again publish defamatory statements about Olubi; publish a full retraction and apology with equal prominence to the original posts; pay NGN 140 M in damages for reputational harm and distress.

Failure to meet these demands, the letter states, will leave Olubi “with no alternative” but to institute a defamation lawsuit against Hundeyin in the Lagos State High Court.

As of publication, Hundeyin’s response to the legal notice is an email with quite a few expletives, telling off the aggrieved party, his legal representatives, and, apparently, anyone with whom they may have crossed paths, even for a fleeting, random moment in the massive entropy of living.