Nobody Came: A Gospel Singer Fought Abuja’s Robbers Alone

By Mike Odeh James 

(Abuja) Hosanna Ayodele Joseph sang of God as a battle fighter. When robbers came for him in Abuja, he faced them with his hands.

Joseph, 37, a psalmist who performed as Hosanna SOMHG — Son of the Most High God — was stabbed to death Thursday morning, July 13,  after confronting men who broke into his home, according to his cousin, Fanisi Babatunde, posting on his FB page. 

He died at the scene and was buried days later. 

“Devastated to receive the news this morning of the passing of my beloved cousin brother and gifted Gospel artiste, Hosanna Joseph SMOG,” wrote Babatunde.

“His life was tragically cut short following complications arising from injuries sustained during what appears to have been a robbery incident at his home in Abuja. The news is both shocking and heartbreaking,” Babtunde added.

“My pain is even deeper because Hosannah had already endured the loss of his mother years ago, and now he leaves behind a wife, a young child, family members, friends, and countless admirers who cherished him dearly, according to his cousin Babtunde. “I cannot help but reflect on our childhood memories together, those moments spent playing video games, sharing laughter, and watching a young talent blossom into a remarkable minister of music.”

Residents told TruthNigeria  the gang had worked the area for months before that night. “Three houses were hit in two weeks. We reported to the police station, but they said they had no vehicle to patrol,” said a neighbor who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.” 

A Statistic Before He Was a Story 

Joseph joined a category the Nigerian state has stopped counting individually. The National Bureau of Statistics found that 4,142,174 Nigerian households suffered home robbery in a single year, and fewer than 37 percent of those victims reported it to the police. 

Of the roughly 1.8 million robbery victims who stayed silent, some 374,679 said plainly that they expected the police to do nothing. Only a third of households reported a police response within thirty minutes. 

The money is not the problem. Federal budget records show about $6 billion approved for the Army, Air Force, police and allied agencies between 2020 and 2024 — a period in which households still logged more than 51 million crime incidents, including an estimated 2.2 million kidnappings. 

Communities Living under Siege by Crime Gangs

The capital’s record shows what determines whether a killing is investigated. ARISE News anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu, 29, died from injuries sustained when robbers invaded her Katampe residence on September 29, 2025. Twelve people were arrested within days. 

Neighbors afterward described a community living under armed robbers’ siege. Maduagwu was on national television. No one has been arrested for Joseph’s killing. Police spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment. The arithmetic is familiar to anyone who covers Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In Benue’s farming counties, soldiers and Department of State Services operatives detain the vigilantes who defend villages from the Fulani Ethnic Militia while the attackers face no charges at all. Citizens are stripped of the means to protect themselves, and the state that stripped them does not take up the duty it claimed. Joseph, in his bedroom in the federal capital, met the same fate.

From Engineering to Music

Joseph came to music through an engineering lecture hall, graduating in electrical and computer engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in Niger State and took  up full-time church ministry after April 2011. He released “Belongs to You” in April 2017 and a fourteen-track album, “Resign 2 Grace,” that December. 

“Jagun Jagun” — a song casting God as warrior, defender and protector for people surrounded by fear and chaos— followed in August 2018. He convened a worship movement called “All Hearts Worship,” ministered at HolyGhost Christian Centre under Pastors Ayo and Dorcas Tegbe and shared stages with Ron Kenoly, Samsong, Dunsin Oyekan and Solomon Lange.

 He was still releasing music this year. “His life was his ministry,” said Pastor Ayo Tegbe. “He believed until the end that God fights for His children. We do not understand why this happened, but we trust the One he sang about.” He leaves his wife, Oluwaseyi, and one child.

Police spokespersons had not responded to requests for comment at the time of filing. 

Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.

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