Ezra Olubi, co-founder of Nigerian fintech firm Paystack, has issued a pre-action legal notice seeking N140 million in damages from investigative journalist David Hundeyin over alleged defamatory posts made on X. The notice, dated January 26, 2026, was sent through the law firm Templars and accuses Hundeyin of circulating false and malicious statements in posts published in December 2025. The posts allegedly portrayed Olubi as insecure and unstable, made comparisons with alleged abuses involving U.S. music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs, and suggested potential threats to critics, including a reference to Amaka Odel.
Olubi’s lawyers are demanding that Hundeyin permanently remove the disputed posts from X, submit a written undertaking not to publish further defamatory content about Olubi, issue a full public retraction and apology with the same visibility as the original posts, and pay N140 million as compensation for reputational harm and emotional distress.
The letter gives Hundeyin a seven-day window to comply, in line with the Lagos State High Court Pre-Action Protocol, warning that failure to do so would result in legal action. The development comes months after Olubi’s suspension and subsequent removal from Paystack in late 2025 following separate allegations of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate, which the company said it was investigating. Paystack, which was acquired by Stripe in 2020, has not made any public statement on the latest legal dispute.
Hundeyin, who is known for investigative reporting on politics and business in West Africa, shared the pre-action notice on his X account. In response, he posted a defiant message rejecting the demands, using profane language and appearing to ridicule both Olubi and elements of Nigeria’s legal system.
He has not issued any formal apology or retraction. The situation has drawn attention to ongoing tensions between prominent figures in Nigeria’s technology sector and outspoken journalists, particularly amid heightened scrutiny of online speech and defamation claims.
Legal analysts note that Nigerian courts have increasingly considered high-value defamation cases linked to social media activity, although outcomes often depend on proof of malice and the strength of public interest defenses. As of now, neither Olubi nor Hundeyin has commented beyond their public posts, and the matter remains unresolved, with the compliance deadline set to expire in early February 2026.
Source: https://businessday.ng/
