Popular gospel artistes, Yinka Ayefele and BBO, have yet to publicly respond to allegations of intellectual property theft levelled against them by colleague, Beautiful Nubia.
Beautiful Nubia, known for his conscious lyrics and advocacy for cultural preservation, took to Instagram on Thursday to accuse the artistes of copying the melody of one of his songs without due credit.
In his post, he questioned what he described as a growing trend among Nigerian gospel musicians to appropriate other people’s creative works without acknowledgement.
“There was Yinka Ayefele with My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti) in 2012 and now someone called BBO with ‘Amin’ this year. Both stole their melodies from our original song ‘Seven Lifes’. When will Nigerians (especially the so-called gospel musicians) learn to respect copyright?” he wrote.
According to him, Ayefele’s 2012 song, My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti), and BBO’s 2026 single, Amin, bear striking similarities to his earlier composition, Seven Lifes, in melody.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Ayefele nor BBO had publicly addressed the allegation.
Beautiful Nubia has carved a niche for himself with socially conscious songs that blend folk rhythms with spiritual themes. He has consistently advocated for originality and respect for intellectual property within Nigeria’s creative industry.
Copyright infringement remains a recurring issue in the Nigerian music industry, with several artistes over the years engaging in public disputes over song ownership, melody similarities and sampling rights. Legal experts have often advised creatives to properly register their works and seek legal redress where necessary.
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