Nigerian gospel singer Yinka Ayefele has responded to copyright allegations raised by folk musician Beautiful Nubia, firmly denying claims that he copied the melody of his 2012 song My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti).
The controversy began after Beautiful Nubia accused Ayefele and another artiste, Bakare Boluwatife-Oluwatobi (BBO), of using melodies from his 1997 track Seven Lifes without proper credit. He also alleged that BBO’s 2026 release Amin followed the same pattern.
Reacting to the claims on social media, Ayefele dismissed the accusation and questioned its basis. In a now-deleted post, he wrote:
“WHO IS THE COMPOSER OF EBAMI GBONDO YI GBE ..JANGBALAJUGBU …. Who was acknowledged.. INFRINGEMENT AYE..”
Earlier, Beautiful Nubia had publicly expressed concern over what he described as repeated melody theft. According to him:
“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’.” He added, “When will Nigerians (especially the so-called gospel musicians) learn to respect copyright?”
As of this report, BBO has not issued any public response to the allegations.
The dispute has sparked fresh conversations online about originality, inspiration, and copyright protection within Nigeria’s gospel and folk music space.