The Paul Adefarasin saga: We play too much In Nigeria

Last week’s statement by Lagos-based church House on The Rock is very ludicrous, hilarious and a clear assault on the sensibilities of discerning Nigerians. The senior pastor of the church, Paul Adefarasin, was recently invited for questioning by the police over a viral video in which he pointed an object that many believed was a firearm at a content creator who is popular for filming luxury cars and sharing the footage on his platforms. Many Nigerians demanded a probe of the incident, as there was a huge debate on what Adefarasin, who was the convener and host of ‘The Experience’ gospel concert, pointed at the unarmed civilian. While many claimed it was a gun, some said it was torchlight; others said it was a taser.

Adefarasin promised to address the incident during the Sunday service, but rather than do so, the highly respected cleric chose to play the victim. Describing the incident as both hurtful and malicious, he said he felt hurt and shocked when he learnt of the online controversy surrounding the video. While denying that he neither owned a firearm nor pointed any such item at anyone, he attributed the false allegations to “clickbaiters” seeking financial gain. To crown it all, he said his church doesn’t dignify hate speech or false accusations, and with this statement, he considers the matter settled.

He said, “The enticement of the enemy is always the love of money and the root of all evil. What we have had to witness is clickbaiters just looking for more money. I probably wasn’t even their target. Their target was to make more money. And I was falsely accused of bearing a firearm and pointing a firearm at an aggressive content creator who came within personal distance.”

“The only thing separating me and him was about maybe three-quarters of a metre and glass. I do not have a pistol licence for a firearm. I do not carry a firearm. And I pointed no firearm at anybody. Amen. And it’s our policy not to dignify hate speech or false accusations. We believe that God is bigger than that. And we believe in what is said in Romans 12 and verse 19. And it was unique because it came home on a Saturday when I observe the Sabbath. Because it’s a great time for me. I don’t make a huge law out of Sabbath, but I believe in the principle of Sabbath. And unfortunately, several people called me and sent me many videos. I was shocked.

I’ll be candid with you. I was shocked. I was hurt. I am human. But God is touched with the feeling of our infirmities and is able to first give us succour. And what the enemy means for evil, he works for good. On that note, I will lay that matter to rest.”

Rather than lay the matter to rest, many Gen Z netizens kept asking questions and asking the police to investigate the incident. Yes, agreed, you did not point a firearm at anybody. The question is, what object were you holding? That was the major question the pastor could have addressed while providing clarity on the matter. By not telling Nigerians, the object pointed at the content creator; all your explanations are simply fatuous. It would have been better if the pastor had kept quiet rather than offering an explanation which did not answer the question many demanded an answer to: what object were you holding?

Nigeria’s primary law enforcement agency, the police, decided to step in. The Lagos state police command invited Pastor Adefarasin, and he turned himself in as a law-abiding and responsible citizen. In a statement posted on the police X handle, it said the object seen in the viral video was not a firearm but a stun gun, which is classified as prohibited anti-riot equipment.

The statement said, “Pastor Paul Adefarasin, who turned himself in today at the Lagos State Police Command over a viral video where he was seen holding a gun-like object against another road user, was interrogated, and he volunteered a cautionary statement to the police investigators. What was recovered from him, the gun-like object seen in the viral video, is not a lethal weapon or firearm but a stun gun, which is a prohibited anti-riot equipment. The pastor has been granted bail while investigations continue into the case.”

The church, however, faulted the police statement and even tried to educate the country’s law enforcement agents on what constitutes an offence or not. The full statement by the church’s media department reads, “We are grateful to everyone who has expressed concern following Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s voluntary attendance at the Lagos State Police Command on Tuesday, 17 June 2025.

“Pastor Paul was detained for several hours and released without charge. During that time, an official police tweet mislabelled 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. 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. 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.”

The church said, “Leading Nigerian lawyers advise that a stun gun is not a prohibited anti-riot equipment.” Who are these faceless senior lawyers who know more than our security agents and are trying to educate them? Honestly, we play too much in this country.

Even in an advanced country like the United Kingdom, a stun gun is deemed illegal? To fact-check, I googled, ‘Is a stun gun legal in the UK? The response I got was, “No, stun guns are illegal in the UK. They are classified as prohibited weapons under the Firearms Act 1968 and are considered dangerous due to the high-voltage electricity they discharge. Possession, purchase, or import of stun guns without lawful authority can result in severe penalties, including imprisonment and fines.”

Despite the church’s antics, Moshood Jimoh, the Lagos State police commissioner, insisted that Pastor Paul committed an offence the moment he pointed a stun gun at another individual, as his action constituted a violation of the Firearms Act.

By interrogating Pastor Paul, the police have done a great job, and they ought to be commended. Even if he was not detained, the fact that he was summoned and the stun gun recovered has doused the suspense the issue generated, as many Nigerians wanted to know the object the cleric pointed at the harmless content creator whose major offence was filming a car. We are humans, and nobody is immune to making mistakes.

I think Pastor Paul, a man I had tremendous respect for, should submit himself for counselling on anger management. No one is too big to learn. In December 2023, the pastor allegedly smashed the window of a bus driver who hit his car and injured passengers in the bus. Neither the pastor nor the church made any statement on that particular incident.

A laissez-faire country, where people can behave however they want without recourse to the law, is dangerous for all. It doesn’t speak well of the country when foreigners are reading that two distribution companies in Lagos (Ikeja Electric and Eko Disco) were attacked by men in military uniforms, inflicting injuries on civilians doing their lawful duties simply because they were disconnected from having electricity supply over unpaid debt.

As responsible citizens, we should learn to abide by the law at all times. That is how saner climes where we all desire to ‘japa’ work. Many Nigerians who are reckless drivers here and who usually drive without insurance or a licence know they can’t try it in the UK. They know the full weight of the law will be brought on them if caught, no matter their status in society. In January 2023, the immediate Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak, was fined for not wearing a seatbelt while sitting at the back of a car. Sunak fully accepted that it was a mistake. He apologised and paid the fine. Who will fine a state governor in Nigeria for not using a seatbelt?

The other day, a former governor who is now a serving senator, Adams Oshiomhole, was accused of blocking the terminal gate of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), domestic wing in Lagos, after missing his Abuja-bound flight. The airline said he reportedly arrived at the airport by 6:20am for a flight that was to depart by 6:30am. When he was told that his flight had departed, he reportedly blocked the entrance, preventing other passengers from gaining entrance to the terminal. In a saner clime, that will be treated as an act of terrorism, but Nigeria is a country where anything goes. Oshiomhole also justified his action and accused Air Peace of institutional extortion. However, would he have done the same if the incident had happened at Nairobi or Cairo international airports?

Akinsuyi, former group politics editor of Daily Independent, writes from the United Kingdom. He can be reached at [email protected].