Paystack, a Nigerian payment startup, has suspended Ezra Olubi, its co-founder and chief technology officer, over allegations of workplace sexual misconduct.

Born in 1986, Mr Olubi was between 23 and 27 years old when he made the tweets that now haunt his career, after Paystack suspended him from his role as chief technical officer.

“Can you contract one (STD) if the only thing you’ve had sex with in months is your cat?” Mr Olubi tweeted.

In the explicit X posts dated as far back as 2009, Mr Olubi appeared to be recommending sex with minors as the cure to HIV and said he lacked sexual discipline around 16-year-olds.

In September 2019, he urged a Twitter user to “save water” and “take a bath with ur neighbour’s daughter”.

“I hear sex wit a minor cures HIV, so my +ve followers, help yourselves,” Mr Olubi stated in a 2010 post.

A report by TechCabal said the fintech company has launched a formal investigation into the matter, after the allegation trended on social media on November 12.

Although Olubi’s X account has been deleted, social media trend showed his tweets were posted before he co-founded Paystack.

“Paystack is aware of the allegations involving our Co-founder, Ezra Olubi,” the firm told TechCabal.

“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.

“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 it has established a “fair, transparent, and structured” review process to conduct a thorough investigation.

This, the payment firm said, aligns with its internal policies.

“This process is guided by our policies, our values, and our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all employees,” the firm added.

Mr Olubi, 39, is known for his alte fashion lifestyle; wearing women’s clothing, using lipstick and painting his fingernails despite living in a conservative West African nation like Nigeria.

The Paystack co-founder had seemed unperturbed by criticisms of his fashion lifestyle, at least until Thursday evening, when he deactivated his X account.

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a trader and former PDP ward chairman, Abubakar Sise, from his home in Boriya–Shiya Ward, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The attackers struck around midnight on Thursday, shooting repeatedly into the air as they entered the compound.

Residents said the gunfire forced many people to flee indoors in fear.

Sources reported that one of Sise’s sons returned home during the attack and met the armed men.

The kidnappers allegedly ordered him to call his father and open the main door. After gaining entry, they took Sise away and left the rest of the family unharmed.

By morning, empty shells and live bullets were seen scattered around the compound, confirming that the assailants fired multiple rounds during the raid.

Witnesses described the incident as brief but terrifying.

Local vigilante members were alerted immediately and began combing nearby bushes and footpaths in search of the kidnappers. Security sources said the operation is ongoing.

Thursday’s abduction is the second recorded in the area within two months.

On September 17, another businessman was kidnapped from his residence in the neighbouring Shiya community, a few kilometres away.

As of the time of filing this report, the location of Alhaji Sise remains unknown, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Nigerian military has announced another significant success in its ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in the North East region.

Under Operation DESERT SANITY IV, troops from Sector 1 of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), alongside the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), crushed nine members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in an operation in Yanaga Ari, Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, on November 12, 2025.

According to a statement by Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, Media Information Officer of OPHK, the troops recovered five AK 47 rifles, several rounds of ammunition, and other logistics items from the scene.

In another major breakthrough, troops from Sector 2 foiled a mass abduction of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members along the Buratai-Kamuya Road in Biu Local Government Area.

Seventy-four corps members, 36 males and 38 females, were rescued after their vehicles broke down at night near a notorious kidnapping spot while traveling to Hawul for a Christian evangelism mission.

A military patrol team, alerted by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system, detected suspicious movement involving three buses at the location and swiftly deployed to the scene to rescue the NYSC members.

The rescued corps members are currently being accommodated at the Tukur Yusuf Buratai Institute pending further arrangements for their safe movement.

The Military High Command praised the troops for their “impressive gallantry and proactiveness” and urged continued vigilance in the quest to restore peace across the North East.

The statement also called on the public to continue supporting the Armed Forces with timely and credible information to aid ongoing operations aimed at eradicating terrorism and criminality in the region.

Western Delta University (WDU), Oghara, Delta State, will on Saturday, November 15, 2025, hold its 15th convocation ceremony for the 2024/2025 academic session.

A statement signed by the Acting Registrar, E.O. Ofotokun, said the event would feature the conferment of degrees, diplomas and prizes on deserving students.

The university will also confer honourary doctorate degrees on two eminent Nigerians — Prince Adewale Adebayo, a lawyer, philanthropist and former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general elections, and General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (retd), a former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Interior.

While Adebayo will receive a Doctor of Political Science (Honoris Causa), Dambazau will be conferred with a Doctor of Strategic Studies (Honoris Causa).

Ofotokun said graduands have been directed to collect their academic gowns and invitation cards ahead of the event, adding that they are to be seated by 9:30 a.m., while guests are expected to be seated by 10:00 a.m.

According to the statement, the ceremony will commence with the commissioning of projects at 10:30 a.m., followed by a convocation lecture at 11:00 a.m. to be delivered by Professor Kyari Mohammed, former Vice-Chancellor of Modibbo Adama University of Technology and Nigerian Army University, Biu.

The highlight of the occasion, slated between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m., will be the conferment of honorary degrees and presentation of academic awards.

President Bola Tinubu has reappointed Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for another five-year term.

The decision was announced on Friday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.

Marwa first took office in January 2021 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

His new term means he will lead the agency until 2031.

Marwa previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020.

He also served as military governor of Lagos and Borno states.

He is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, Marwa held several high-ranking roles in the military.

He served as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General TY Danjuma, and academic registrar of the NDA.

He also worked as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, before becoming Defence Adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

He holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Marwa’s tenure at the NDLEA has produced major results. The agency has arrested more than 73,000 drug traffickers, including several high-profile barons.

It has seized over 15 million kilogrammes of hard drugs during his leadership and launched nationwide campaigns against drug abuse.

Tinubu praised Marwa’s record and urged him to intensify the fight against drug cartels.

“Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your efforts to rid our country of drug trafficking and drug abuse.

I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs who are out to destroy our people, especially the young ones,” the president said.

The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in Akwa Ibom State has confirmed the deaths of two inmates awaiting trial at the Uyo Custodial Centre following an electrical accident caused by a malfunctioning transformer.

Speaking to newsmen in Uyo on Thursday, the state Controller of NCoS, Mr. Frank Okonkwo, revealed that the incident also injured two correctional officers and damaged electrical appliances within the facility.

Okonkwo explained that the accident occurred after an explosion at a nearby transformer two weeks ago, which caused a high-voltage wire to snap and fall on a section of the correctional facility, resulting in a total blackout.

“During the explosion, the two deceased inmates were thrown from where they were seated and were later confirmed dead by doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital,” he said.

Describing the incident as tragic, Okonkwo stated that the families of the deceased had been notified.

“We are deeply pained by the loss of two of our inmates due to this unfortunate event. It is quite devastating,” he remarked.

He also called on the relevant authorities to urgently address the faulty transformer to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The US House Oversight Committee published more than 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose 2019 death intensified scrutiny of the powerful people he knew.

The new release contains emails naming President Donald Trump, with claims by Epstein about Trump’s behavior and mental state and his alleged knowledge of underage girls.

The disclosures have once again pushed Trump deeper into the ongoing Epstein controversy.

In one email reviewed by CNN, Epstein writes to Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011 that Trump was “the dog that hasn’t barked,” implying Trump had not been openly linked to him despite private interactions.

The redacted person GOP members identified in the email was Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April.

Another email from 2019 shows Epstein writing to author Michael Wolff to contest Trump’s claim that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Epstein wrote:

“Never a member ever, of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

Trump has said that he severed relations with Epstein because Epstein was “a creep” and accused him of recruiting spa workers at Mar-a-Lago.

Maxwell denied the recruitment claim during an interview with the Justice Department.

Epstein called Trump “borderline insane” and “crazy”

A 2018 email exchange with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers shows Epstein calling Trump “borderline insane.”

Other emails show Epstein calling Trump “f**king crazy” while discussing the 2017 Muslim ban with a New York Times reporter.

Epstein also sent an email to a reporter in 2018, questioning whether Trump was suffering “early dementia,” adding that the president’s behaviour appeared increasingly unstable.

Epstein was informed about Trump’s private jet sale

Documents show Epstein was receiving regular updates on Trump’s B727 jet throughout 2011.

In one message, the sender reported that Trump had a buyer lined up, while another later confirmed the sale of the plane for $2.7 million.

The senders were redacted, but Epstein’s accountant and lawyer were copied on the exchanges.

Epstein also exchanged emails with many well-known figures, including former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler.

Their correspondence discussed Trump’s conduct and possible impeachment and political scandals.

In one email, Epstein warned Ruemmler:

“Tightening the noose too slowly risks a very bad situation.”

He wrote a similar message to attorney Reid Weingarten, saying Trump was becoming “very erratic.”

Epstein claimed he once “gave” his girlfriend to Trump

One of the most explosive claims that has emerged is that Epstein emailed a New York Times reporter in 2015 to say he could provide “photos of Donald and girls in bikinis.”

He also said he “gave” his 20-year-old girlfriend to Trump in the 1990s, attaching a link to a webpage featuring the woman.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and dismissed the new documents as a “hoax.”

Epstein and Maxwell coordinated responses to abuse allegations

Emails from 2015 reveal Epstein and Maxwell creating statements in response to the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre.

Maxwell asked for legal assistance because she needed to publicly distance herself from Epstein while denying knowledge of some incidents.

She later settled the defamation suit with Giuffre in 2017.

Trump’s spokesperson said the e-mails prove “nothing,” while the president claimed Democrats used Epstein to “deflect” from the government shutdown.

The thousands of pages represent the largest public release of Epstein-linked material to date, and analysts say more political tremors are likely as investigators continue combing through the files.

Morris Monye, the Director of Mobilisation for the Obidient Movement, has announced his resignation, citing frustration with poor coordination and the financial strain of personally funding the movement’s activities.

In a statement shared on his official X handle on Thursday, Monye expressed disappointment over the movement’s lack of structure and teamwork, which he said contributed to its poor performance in the recently concluded Anambra State governorship election.

“Almost a year down the line, most of our short, medium, and long-term plans have not been met. I won’t be part of optics and no work,” Monye stated. “The poor showing at the Anambra election has also made my position untenable.”

He revealed that he had personally financed nationwide mobilisation efforts, including travel, voter awareness campaigns, and local structure support, without any financial backing from the movement’s leadership or its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Monye criticized the lack of communication, stating: “No money was given to the Directorate of Mobilisation. There’s no bank account even for the directorate. In fact, Mr. Peter Obi has never asked what we are doing in mobilisation — no communication, nothing.”

Monye also highlighted the personal toll of his role, including harassment and intimidation from government supporters, which he said endangered his safety and well-being.

“It’s a role that paints a target on your back. I’ve had to remain silent so as not to discourage anyone or appear to be complaining, but it has taken a toll on me and my family,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Monye listed his contributions to the movement, including creating an online registration system for supporters, reviving dormant support groups, establishing regional and local offices, and launching the Obidient NextGen university campus network.

He also raised funds for the Anambra election candidate and initiated a project to equip polling unit agents with affordable body cameras for election accountability, urging his successor to complete the initiative.

Monye described his time in the movement as a “privilege” but emphasized that “you can’t run a campaign simply from general goodwill. This is not 2023. The element of surprise is gone.”

He called for fresh leadership to take the movement forward.

The Obidient Movement, a grassroots political force centered around Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, gained significant traction during the 2023 elections, particularly among young Nigerians.

However, the leadership of the movement, including its National Coordinator Dr. Yunusa Tanko, has yet to respond to Monye’s resignation or the issues he raised.