Gospel singer, Tope Alabi, has threatened legal action against Canada-based pastor Tayo Kumuyi, popularly known as Pastor Tayo Ministries, over alleged defamatory publications linking her to the death of gospel minister Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, known as Toluwanisings, and other ministers.
Alabi’s solicitors, Oakmount Legal Practitioners, issued a cease-and-desist letter dated October 24, 2026, demanding that the operator of the pastor’s Facebook page remove the publications, retract the allegations and issue a public apology within 24 hours.
The letter, titled “Cease and Desist: Malicious and Defamatory Publications and Threats Against Our Client”, described the notice as a “final demand for immediate removal, retraction and apology within twenty-four (24) hours”.
According to the solicitors, posts published between October 20 and 24 allegedly accused Alabi of involvement in murder and ritual killing, including claims connecting her to the deaths of several gospel ministers.
Dismissing the allegations, the lawyers stated, “These statements accuse our client of murder and of ritual killing. There is no more serious allegation that can be made against a person, least of all a minister of the gospel. They are false in every particular.”
They challenged the page operator to produce evidence supporting the claims, adding, “You have produced no evidence, because none exists. No investigation, police finding or court decision supports a word of them.”
The solicitors also maintained that Alabi had publicly and privately mourned Toluwanisings and had no involvement in his death or that of any other person.
The letter accused the page operator of exploiting public grief to target the singer, stating, “You have taken the grief of a bereaved family and a nation, and turned it into a weapon against an innocent woman, for reasons best known to you.”
The lawyers rejected attempts to justify the allegations as spiritual revelations, describing the publications as deliberate and malicious.
They wrote, “Your conduct is not honest comment, and it is not ‘revelation’. It is a deliberate, reckless and malicious publication of falsehood to the world, repeated day after day, with a call to your followers to spread it further.”
They further alleged that the posts had attracted hundreds of reactions, comments and shares, with some comments suggesting that readers were accepting the claims as true.
The solicitors also cited a subsequent post allegedly directed at Alabi after she issued a public notice warning against defamation on October 23.
Quoting the post, they wrote, “Tope Alabi, no letter will save you from my hand. Your only option is leaving your hiding place.”
Describing the statement as a threat, the lawyers said, “That is not a response to a legal notice. It is a threat of harm, and an open declaration that you will continue.”
They added that Alabi considered the publications a serious matter and would rely on posts made after her public notice as evidence of what they described as malice and an intention to continue the alleged defamation.
On the legal implications, the letter stated, “The publications complained of are, in our client’s view, actionable in libel under the applicable law.”
The solicitors argued that the allegations could damage their client’s reputation, professional standing and ministry, noting that presenting them as religious revelations did not automatically exempt the publisher from legal scrutiny.
They stated, “The fact that the statements are presented as spiritual revelations or religious opinions does not, without more, exempt their publication from the ordinary requirements of the law.”
Addressing the pastor’s reported residence in Canada, the lawyers argued that living outside Nigeria would not necessarily prevent legal proceedings over the publications.
According to the letter, the statements were published on a public platform in Yoruba and English, concerned a Nigerian public figure and were directed at a Nigerian audience.
The solicitors maintained that the allegations had been read, shared and believed in Nigeria, where Alabi lives and works and where, they said, her reputation had been damaged.
They consequently demanded the immediate removal of the disputed posts, an end to further publication of the allegations, the withdrawal of requests encouraging others to share them, and a halt to statements they considered threatening or harassing.
The page operator was also instructed to preserve all relevant evidence, including posts, recordings, messages, drafts and available account records.
The letter warned, “Removal from public view must not involve the destruction or alteration of evidence.”
In addition, the lawyers demanded an unreserved retraction and apology on the same Facebook page.
They requested that the apology remain pinned for 14 consecutive days and receive prominence reasonably equivalent to that of the original publications.
The recipient was also asked to disclose the factual basis and supporting materials for any allegations maintained and confirm whether the claims had been reported to the Nigeria Police Force or another competent authority.
Warning that failure to comply within 24 hours could trigger further action, the solicitors wrote, “Take notice that this is our client’s final demand.”
They listed possible legal steps, including court proceedings seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, damages and costs, as well as applications for interlocutory relief where legally justified.
Other options included complaints to Meta Platforms and referrals of the alleged threats to law enforcement.
The lawyers also stated that Alabi reserved the right to seek general damages and, where supported by the evidence, aggravated or exemplary damages, alongside other available remedies.
However, they clarified that the notice was not intended to restrict legitimate reporting or lawful commentary, stating, “Nothing in this letter is intended to prevent truthful reporting, lawful investigation or legitimate commentary protected by law.”
The letter was signed by Toluwanimi Okunade of Oakmount Legal Practitioners on behalf of Alabi.
Toluwanisings, whose real name was Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, died on October 14, 2026, aged 41.
Alabi had publicly mourned the gospel minister following his death.
