Update: Pastor Paul Adefarasin Released, Disagrees With Police On ‘Gun-like object’

Pastor Paul Adefarasin, founder of House on The Rock Church, was detained for several hours on Tuesday, June 17, after voluntarily presenting himself at the Lagos State Police Command. He was later released without charge.

Pastor Paul Adefarasin

The detention followed the circulation of a viral video, prompting a police investigation.

During the process, an official police tweet described a strobe-light stinger—commonly referred to as a stun gun—in Pastor Adefarasin’s possession as “prohibited anti-riot equipment.”

The police said that the outcome of the investigation will be made public.

In a statement released by the church’s media department, the statement claimed that leading Nigerian legal experts have disputed this classification, stating that the description does not align with current laws governing such devices.

The statement further adds that, Pastor Adefarasin has reaffirmed his cooperation with law enforcement and expressed confidence that a full review of the facts will lead to his exoneration.

“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 statement added.

The police said the item recovered from Adefarasin was not a firearm but a stun gun, which is classified as a prohibited anti-riot device.

FULL STATEMENT FROM THE CHURCH

Adefarasin, Senior Pastor of the House on the Rock Church, had earlier responded to the viral allegations that he was wielding a firearm in a recent video.

The clip, which surfaced online and has since gone viral, shows Adefarasin holding an object that some viewers believe was a gun while speaking to a passerby who was recording the incident.

In a message posted to his social media accounts on Saturday, Adefarasin dismissed the claims as a misunderstanding, asserting that the object seen in the video was not a firearm and that he did not point it at anyone.