Beautiful Nubia accuses Ayefele, BBO of copyright infringement

Nigerian folk singer Segun Akinlolu, popularly known as Beautiful Nubia, has accused gospel artistes Yinka Ayefele and BBO of infringing on the copyright of his song ‘Seven Lifes’.

In a post shared on Thursday on X, the singer alleged that Ayefele’s 2012 track My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti) and BBO’s 2026 song Amin borrowed their core melodies from his original work.

He questioned when Nigerian musicians, particularly gospel artistes, would begin to respect copyright laws.

He wrote, “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?”

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Neither Ayefele nor BBO had publicly responded to the allegation as of the time of reporting.

The accusation adds to a growing list of intellectual-property disputes within Nigeria’s gospel music space. In 2024, gospel star Sinach faced a lawsuit from producer Michael Oluwole, who claimed co-authorship of her global hit Way Maker. She denied the claim, maintaining she was the sole writer and that the song had achieved international success before the producer’s involvement.