The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, said on Thursday that the Senior Pastor of the House on The Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, committed an offence by brandishing a stun gun; an anti-riot device to scare another citizen.
In an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, Mr Jimoh, said under Nigerian FireArms Act even if Mr Adefarasin had brandished a wood carved like a gun to threaten or scare another person it was an offence.
He said, “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, (Mr Adefarasin) pointing a stun gun at another individual and sending 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.’’
The police commissioner said Mr Adefarasin was still under investigation, insisting that the police were doing everything in line with the law.
Mr Jimoh’s statement shadowed the House on The Rock defence of the cleric’s action, saying his stun gun was not illegal as maintained by the police.
The church urged the police to act courteously and professionally, while “Pastor Paul continues to cooperate fully with the police investigation and is confident that, once the facts are reviewed, he will be exonerated of the allegation arising from the viral video.”
Last week, Peoples Gazette reported how Mr Adefarasin pulled out a pistol-like object, warning a car spotter to stop recording his unregistered Range Rover.
Mr Adefarasin denied owning a firearm and noted that the car spotter was an “aggressive content creator.”
The cleric was criticised by Nigerians on social media who urged him to tell the public what he held or show what the device was to support his denial.
