Lagos State Police Command has discontinued the case against the senior pastor of House on the Rock Church Paul Adefarasin after investigating a viral video that showed him holding an object mistaken for a firearm.
Police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi said in a statement on Wednesday that pastor Adefarasin voluntarily reported to the command headquarters in Ikeja for questioning.
He was interrogated and made a cautionary statement.
The command said investigations confirmed that the object in question was a stun gun and not a firearm.
“After a thorough investigation, including interrogation and a cautionary statement from Pastor Adefarasin, it was established that the object in question was a stun gun and not a lethal weapon or firearm. Consequent to our findings, the Lagos State Police Command has determined that there are no sufficient grounds to proceed with the matter. The case is hereby discontinued,” the statement read.
The video, which surfaced in June, showed Adefarasin inside a Range Rover, holding the object during an exchange with another road user.
Following the video’s circulation, Adefarasin denied ever brandishing a firearm.
On his X handle, he wrote, “You might be aware of a video which has been circulating on social media showing me in what some have misunderstood as brandishing a firearm. I want to assure you of this, that was certainly not a firearm, and at no point did I point such at anyone.”
During a church service streamed on YouTube, he repeated his stance, saying, “I was falsely accused of bearing a firearm, pointing a firearm at an aggressive content creator who came within personal distance. I do not have a pistol licence. I do not carry a firearm, and I pointed no firearm at anybody.”
Earlier in June, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, had said that pointing a stun gun at someone constituted an offence under Nigerian law.
He explained that, “Nothing is an offence under the law, except what the law states to be an offence. Even under the Firearms Act, if you fashion out anything that is not metal, like wood, and you make it look like a gun, and you use that guise to take possession of property from another person, you have committed armed robbery.
“So, pointing a stun gun at another individual and sending that threat and fear to such a person at that particular time constitutes an offence. So, the police are doing everything in line with the law.”
He added that the police would question both Adefarasin and the individual who was allegedly threatened in the video.
With Wednesday’s statement, the command confirmed the matter has been closed.
