Tope Alabi threatens legal action over Toluwanisings’ death claims

Gospel singer, Tope Alabi, has threatened to sue a Canada-based pastor, identified as Tayo Kumuyi also known as Pastor Tayo Ministries, over allegations linking her to the death of gospel minister, Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings, and other ministers.

Alabi’s solicitors, Oakmount Legal Practitioners, issued a cease-and-desist letter dated October 24, 2026, demanding the removal of the publications, a retraction and an apology from the operators of the Facebook page, Pastor Tayo Ministries.

The letter, titled “Cease and Desist: Malicious and Defamatory Publications and Threats Against Our Client”, described itself as a “final demand for immediate removal, retraction and apology within twenty-four (24) hours”.

According to the legal document, posts published between October 20 and 24 allegedly accused Alabi of involvement in murder and ritual killing, including claims linking her to the deaths of several gospel ministers.

Rejecting the allegations, the lawyers wrote, “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 publisher to provide evidence for the claims, stating, “You have produced no evidence, because none exists. No investigation, police finding or court decision supports a word of them.”

The letter added that Alabi “privately and publicly mourned the late Toluwanisings, and had no part in his death or in the death of anyone else”.

Accusing the page operator of exploiting public grief, the solicitors wrote, “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.”

They also rejected the presentation of the accusations as spiritual revelations, stating, “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.”

The lawyers claimed that the publications had attracted hundreds of reactions, comments and shares, adding that comments beneath them indicated that readers were believing the allegations.

The letter also cited a subsequent post allegedly directed at Alabi after she issued a public notice warning against defamation on October 23.

Quoting the post, the solicitors wrote, “Tope Alabi, no letter will save you from my hand. Your only option is leaving your hiding place.”

They described the statement as threatening, saying, “That is not a response to a legal notice. It is a threat of harm, and an open declaration that you will continue.”

The solicitors further stated that their client regarded the publications with “the utmost gravity”, adding that posts made after her public notice would be relied upon 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.”

It added that the statements “impute serious criminal conduct to our client and are capable of gravely injuring her personal reputation, professional standing and ministry”.

The lawyers also argued that the religious framing of the claims did not automatically exempt them from legal scrutiny, stating, “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.”

They said the legal implications would be assessed based on “the actual words used, their contest and the applicable law”.

Addressing the recipient’s reported residence in Canada, the solicitors argued that it did not necessarily shield the person from legal action.

The letter stated, “You published these statements on a public platform, in Yoruba and English, about a Nigerian public figure, concerning the death of a Nigerian minister, and to a Nigerian audience of followers.”

It added that the publications “were read, shared and believed in Nigeria, which is where our client lives and works and where her reputation has been damaged”.

The lawyers consequently demanded that the recipient remove the offending posts, stop further publication of the allegations, withdraw requests for others to share them and cease making statements they described as threatening or harassing.

They also directed the recipient to preserve all relevant evidence, including publications, recordings, messages, drafts and available account records.

The letter stated, “Removal from public view must not involve the destruction or alteration of evidence.”

In addition to the removal demands, the solicitors requested an unreserved retraction and apology on the same Facebook page, to remain pinned for 14 consecutive days and receive prominence reasonably equivalent to that of the original publications.

They further asked the recipient to identify the factual basis and supporting material for any allegations maintained, and to confirm whether the claims had been reported to the Nigeria Police Force or another competent authority.

Warning of possible legal action if the demands were not met within 24 hours, the lawyers wrote, “Take notice that this is our client’s final demand.”

They listed possible steps, including court proceedings for declaratory and injunctive relief, damages and costs, applications for interlocutory relief where legally justified, complaints to Meta Platforms and referrals of the alleged threats to law enforcement.

The letter also stated that Alabi reserved the right to seek “general damages and, where legally justified by the evidence, aggravated or exemplary damages”, alongside costs and other available remedies.

However, the solicitors clarified that the demands were not intended to prevent 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, acting for 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.