The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, has confirmed that televangelist Pastor Paul Adefarasin faces criminal charges after pointing a stun gun at another person, an act he said is punishable under Nigerian law even if the device is non-lethal. Jimoh spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday while providing an update on the ongoing probe.
“Nothing is an offence under the law, except what the law states to be an offence,” Jimoh explained. “Even under the Fire Arms 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.”
According to Jimoh, the stun gun recovered from Adefarasin qualifies as prohibited riot control equipment under Nigerian statutes. Although the pastor has been released on bail, the commissioner emphasized that the investigation remains active. “He was invited; a letter of invitation was sent to him. In fact, we had prepared our warrant of arrest, in case he refused to comply with the invitation. But he turned himself in and was questioned by a team of investigators who were already on the matter before he turned himself in.”
The video that sparked the inquiry surfaced earlier this month, showing Adefarasin seated in a Range Rover holding what many believed to be a firearm as he spoke to someone outside the vehicle. The pastor has since taken to his official X account to dispute any wrongdoing: “You might be aware of a video circulating on social media showing me in what some have misunderstood as brandishing a firearm. I want to assure you — that was certainly not a firearm, and at no point did I point such at anyone.”
Jimoh further revealed that the individual allegedly threatened in the clip, a content creator whose address the police have obtained—will be summoned to provide a statement. “It is equally on social media that the person he pointed it to is a content creator and we are taking a statement from him as soon as he equally gets to us because we have got his address and we’re going to get him to make a statement in that regard.”
The commissioner concluded by promising transparency once the inquiry is complete: “The pastor is still under investigation, though he has been granted bail, but we will continue with the investigation and make the outcome of the investigation public for all Nigerians to know.”
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
