Beautiful Nubia: Yinka Ayefele breaks silence on copyright claim

Nigerian gospel singer Yinka Ayefele has responded after fellow musician Beautiful Nubia accused him of copying the melody of one of his songs.

The controversy centres on the ownership of a composition both artistes have performed, with Beautiful Nubia alleging that Ayefele used elements of his earlier work without proper credit.

Ayefele addressed the allegation in a post shared on his verified Facebook page, where he questioned the origin of the song and appeared to challenge the claim.

“WHO IS THE COMPOSER OF EBAMI GBONDO YI GBE… JANGBALAJUGBU… Who was acknowledged… INFRINGEMENT AYE…” he wrote.

Beautiful Nubia had earlier taken to social media to accuse Ayefele and another gospel artiste, BBO, of borrowing from his composition titled Seven Lifes. He claimed that Ayefele’s 2012 song My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti) and BBO’s 2026 single Amin bore strong resemblance to his original work.

The singer expressed concern over what he described as a recurring trend in the gospel music industry, where melodies are allegedly used without acknowledging the original creators.

“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.

Ayefele’s My Faith in God is listed among tracks on his Goodness of God project released in December 2012.