The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Owohunwa Jimoh, has stated that Paul Adefarasin, founder of the Lagos-based House on the Rock Church’s action towards a content creator known as Yl_thecarguy constitutes an offence under the law.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the 62-year-old cleric faced backlash on social media after a viral video showed him pointing an object resembling a firearm at the content creator, who is known for filming luxury vehicles and sharing the footage online.
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Amidst the criticism and Mr Adefarasin’s denial of pointing a gun at the creator, the Lagos State Police Command interrogated him on Tuesday and subsequently granted him bail.
The police revealed that a stun gun, categorised as a prohibited anti-riot device, was recovered from Mr Adefarasin, not a conventional firearm.
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However, the church, through its media department, disputed the police’s claim, insisting that the object in question was a strobe-light device, not a stun gun or any form of anti-riot equipment.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday, Mr Jimoh provided an update on the case.
He stated that pointing a stun gun or any object that resembles a firearm at another person constitutes a criminal offence.
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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 anything that does not look metal, like wood, and make it look like a gun, and you use that guise to take possession of property for another person, you have committed armed robbery. So, by pointing out a stun gun to another individual and sending that threat and fear to such a person at that particular time constitutes an offence.
“So the law stating the offence, like I said earlier, will say the procedure by which an offender should be treated and passed through. So the police are not doing their job. We are doing everything in line with the law. In line with the constitution’s provision creating the police force, the police act, and other regulations, we abide by in carrying out our day-to-day activities.”
Investigation
Additionally, Mr Jimoh stated that the convener and host of ‘The Experience’ gospel concert remains under investigation.
He noted that although the police had granted bail to the architecture graduate from the University of Miami, the investigation was still ongoing.
“We’ll make the outcome of the investigation public to all Nigerians to know. He (Pastor Adefarasin) was invited, and a letter of invitation was sent to him. We have prepared a warrant of arrest if he refuses to comply with the invitation. But he turned himself in and was questioned by teams of investigators already on the matter before he turned himself in.
“So the matter is still undergoing further investigation, and like the PRO, we have informed the public that what was recovered from the pastor is his toy gun. It’s not a lethal weapon, and it’s not a firearm. Riot equipment was prohibited, which we are investigating. And we further questioned him over why he pointed such to another individual”, said the Commissioner of Police
READ ALSOAlleged Gun Brandishing: Police grant Pastor Adefarasin bail
Furthermore, Mr Jimoh said the police had contacted the content creator to come forward and give his account of the incident.
“And it is reported on social media that the person pointed the gun to is a content creator and that we are taking the statement for him as soon as he equally gets to us because we have gotten his address and everything, and we are going to get him to come and make a statement in that regard”, he said.
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