LAGOS, Nigeria — The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Moshood Jimoh, has said that Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, committed an offence under Nigerian law when he pointed a stun gun at a content creator during a traffic incident captured on video.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme aired Monday, June 16, 2025, Jimoh clarified that the act of pointing a gun-like object at another person—regardless of its classification—could be interpreted as an offence, particularly under the Firearms Act.
“Even under the Firearms Act, if you fashion out anything — even if it’s not metal — say, a piece of wood shaped like a gun, and use it to dispossess someone or put them in fear, you have committed armed robbery,” he said.
“So, pointing a stun gun or any object that looks like a gun at another individual and putting them in fear at that particular time constitutes an offence.”
The police commissioner’s remarks follow the circulation of a video that shows Adefarasin, from inside a vehicle with tinted windows, raising a gun-shaped object and cautioning a passer-by who was filming.
The video triggered widespread backlash on social media, with many questioning the legality and ethics of the pastor’s actions.
The Lagos State Police Command subsequently invited the cleric for questioning. Adefarasin turned himself in on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 and was interrogated at the command headquarters.
He was later released on bail, but investigations remain ongoing.
In a statement posted Wednesday, June 18, 2025, on Instagram, House on the Rock Church acknowledged Adefarasin’s cooperation with the authorities but disputed the police’s description of the device involved.
“Pastor Paul was detained for several hours and released without charge,” the church said.
“During that time, an official police tweet mis-labelled his strobe-light stinger — also known as a stun gun — as ‘prohibited anti-riot equipment.’
Leading Nigerian lawyers advise that this description is incorrect in law.”
The church maintained that Adefarasin’s device was a non-lethal security tool and expressed confidence in the ongoing investigation.
“Pastor Paul continues to cooperate fully with the police investigation and is confident that, once the facts are reviewed, he will be exonerated,” the statement read.
“We hold the police in high esteem and trust they will strive to act courteously and professionally, in the interest of all, while upholding the laws of the land.”
