Veteran folk musician Beautiful Nubia has publicly accused gospel artistes Yinka Ayefele and BBO of lifting the melody from his song Seven Lifes.

In a post shared Thursday on X, the singer, whose real name is Segun Akinlolu, alleged that Ayefele’s 2012 track My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti) and BBO’s recent release Amin both drew heavily from his original work without permission.

“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 wrote. He went further, questioning when Nigerian musicians, particularly those in the gospel space, would begin to take copyright laws seriously.

As of the time of reporting, neither Ayefele nor BBO had issued a public response.

The accusation has stirred fresh conversation around intellectual property in Nigeria’s gospel music scene, an industry that has expanded in influence and revenue over the past decade but still struggles with consistent copyright enforcement.

The issue isn’t new. In 2024, gospel star Sinach was sued by producer Michael Oluwole, who claimed he co-wrote her global hit Way Maker. Sinach denied the claim, insisting she was the sole songwriter and that the track’s international success predated the producer’s involvement.

Music copyright cases often come down to whether two songs are substantially similar especially in melody, which is typically the heart of such disputes.

For now, Beautiful Nubia’s allegations have added another layer to an ongoing debate within Nigeria’s music community about originality, ownership, and accountability in an increasingly competitive industry.