Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has finally addressed a viral video falsely claiming he brandished a firearm, describing the incident as “hurtful” and driven by “clickbaiters just looking for money.”
The video, which surfaced on Friday, showed a content creator expressing shock after discovering that the occupant of a black Range Rover he was filming was Adefarasin.
The clergyman, seen sitting inside the SUV, rolled down his tinted window while appearing to hold an object that resembled a pistol. He also muttered inaudible words, prompting the visibly frightened content creator to repeatedly apologise.
“Boss, boss, sorry sir, sorry sir,” the car spotter said in the video as the pastor drove away.
Addressing the controversy during his Sunday sermon streamed on YouTube, Adefarasin said he was deeply affected by the false narrative and the reactions it triggered.
“Several persons called me. I was shocked. I was hurt. I’m human,” he said.
“What we have had to witness was clickbaiters just looking for money. I probably wasn’t even their target; their target was to make more money.”
He also refuted claims that he owned or carried a gun.
“I was falsely accused of pointing a firearm at an aggressive content creator who came within personal distance. I do not have a pistol license. I do not carry a firearm. And I pointed,” he said.
Adefarasin revealed that the incident took place on a Saturday while he was observing the Sabbath, which is a personal spiritual practice for him.
“It happened on Saturday when I observed Sabbath. I believe in the principle of Sabbath,” he said.
The preacher said he and his ministry would not be dragged into online drama and misinformation.
“It’s our policy not to dignify hate speech and false accusations. We believe God is bigger than that,” he stated.
Quoting scripture, Adefarasin added, “We believe in what He said in Romans 12:19 — ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
He concluded by noting the emotional weight of the experience: “God is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and He’s able to first give us succour. And what the enemy means for evil, He works it for good.
“On that note, I will lay that matter to rest.”
