The Lagos State Police Command has announced that it will no longer prosecute Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, over a viral video that showed him brandishing what appeared to be a firearm.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed that the object in the cleric’s possession was identified as a stun gun, not a conventional firearm.
“Following the incident, wherein Pastor Paul Adefarasin turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, in connection with a viral video showing him holding a gun-like object, the Lagos State Police Command wishes to provide a further update on the matter,” Adebisi said.
According to her, Adefarasin voluntarily reported to the police after the footage drew widespread criticism. He was interrogated, and a cautionary statement was taken.
Investigations, she added, established that the device was a stun gun, which falls into a different category under Nigerian law.
“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 on 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 spokesperson declared.
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The announcement contrasts with earlier remarks by Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, who had argued in June that the pastor’s conduct amounted to an offence.
Speaking on a Channels Television programme at the time, Jimoh stressed that pointing a stun gun at another individual “constitutes an offence” under the law and assured that the matter was being investigated in line with due process.
Pastor Adefarasin, who had been granted bail during the course of the investigation, is now cleared of further legal proceedings, with the Command concluding that the circumstances did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
The reversal is expected to stir debate, given earlier assurances from the police that the matter would be pursued in accordance with the law.