Beautiful Nubia Drags Yinka Ayefele, BBO over Alleged Intellectual Property Theft
- Beautiful Nubia alleged that his classic 2002 track Seven Lives provided the melodic blueprint for Yinka Ayefele’s 2012 hit and BBO’s 2026 trending single
- The folk legend specifically called out "so-called gospel singers," questioning when they will learn to respect intellectual property
- Nubia’s public outcry served as another point in the ongoing conversation about copyright infringement within the Nigerian music industry
- A legal practitioner, Mr. Moses Falade, stated that Beautiful Nubia must prove ownership of the song before a legal battle could begin
Veteran Nigerian folk singer Beautiful Nubia has openly accused two gospel artists of stealing melodies from his original work.
In a strongly worded Instagram post, the respected songwriter alleged that elements of his song Seven Lives were copied without permission.
Source: Instagram
According to him, the first instance dates back to 2012. In his post, Beautiful Nubia referenced gospel singer Yinka Ayefele and his song My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti), released in 2012.
He claimed that the melody of that track was taken from Seven Lives.
“There was Yinka Ayefele with ‘My Faith in God (Igbagbo Ireti)’ in 2012,” he wrote.
Beautiful Nubia also called out gospel act BBO on a more recent song titled Amin.
“Now someone called BBO with Amin this year,” he added.
He maintained that both songs borrowed heavily from his original composition. In a blunt statement that has since circulated online, Beautiful Nubia questioned the integrity of musicians, particularly those in the gospel space.
He went further to describe the alleged act in plain terms.
He asked:
“When will Nigerians (especially so-called gospel singers) learn to respect copyright? Stealing na stealing, e no get another name. Well, you could call it thievery.”
Read his post here:
Reactions trail Beautiful Nubia's accusation
Legit.ng compiled the reactions of social media users below:
@yomzy_1st stated:
"I love the fact that he said ( our song seven life) he did not say my song that our much he gets his fans and band group involved"
@natiwisky wrote:
"Hmmmmm. With utmost respect for your work Sir. I believe there is no new idea, we build on something, if you also probably do a see search you might realize seven lives possibly could be based on an old folk tune you probably had heard at some point. I believe it is human nature to copy possibly subconsciously at times. Maybe reaching out will make them admit it and doing the necessary and Untill this come to their attention they might not even have realized the similarity being such a simple tune."
@benmoore04 noted:
"You de promote this thievery because I’m forced to listen to Amin and only God knows how many time I’ve skipped that song. No worries we your day one fans won’t stop loving you."
Source: Instagram
Beautiful Nubia has a case in this instance - Lawyer
A legal practitioner, Mr. Moses Falade, stated that Beautiful Nubia must prove ownership of the song before a legal battle could begin.
He stated:
"From a legal standpoint, if the melody of Seven Lives was substantially reproduced without authorisation, that could amount to copyright infringement under the Nigerian Copyright Act. However, Beautiful Nubia would need to prove ownership of the work and demonstrate substantial similarity between his composition and the alleged infringing songs by Yinka Ayefele and BBO."
He added:
"Public accusations alone are not enough; the proper course is to seek redress in court, where expert musical analysis can determine whether there was indeed unlawful copying."
Isbae U gifts Yinka Ayefele skipping rope
Legit.ng had reported that Yinka Ayefele appeared on skit maker Isbae U's podcast, and he was given a parting gift.
He gave Ayefele a skipping rope and asked him to jump up if he was happy about it. The reactions of the music star trended online after seeing the gift Isbae U gave him.
Source: Legit.ng
