There is widespread speculation regarding the legal implications of Paul Adefarasin, founder of House On The Rock, displaying what appeared to be a gun at a content creator.
On Wednesday, the Lagos State Police Command described the object they recovered from Adefarasin as ‘prohibited’. The police said the object was “not a lethal weapon or firearm but a stun gun which is a prohibited anti-riot equipment”.
Adefarasin was caught on camera on June 6 driving an unregistered vehicle and flashing the stun gun when a content creator came up to him as he was driving in Lagos.
A day later, the pastor posted on X that what he had was not a gun, but he did not disclose what it was. “I want to assure you of this — that, that was certainly not a firearm, and at no point did I point such at anyone,” he said.
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Adefarasin was with the police on Tuesday. The command said, “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.”
But since the police already concluded he had a non-lethal stun gun in his possession, what are they investigating? FIJ reviewed several laws to make sense of the case.
THE LAW’S POSITION
In 2019, Sabi Law, an online platform that explains the law, claimed that one does not need a licence for stun guns, tasers or pepper sprays in Nigeria, but having them with the intent to commit a crime could bag one a three-year jail term.
“It is a crime punishable with three years imprisonment to be found with any offensive weapon including, electroshock weapon, Taser Guns, Pepper Sprays and Stun Guns with an intention to commit a felony/offence,” Sabi Law’s article read. “This includes being found with any offensive weapon with intention to break into a house or at night without any lawful excuse or with face masked/blackened.”
This article goes on to explain that a variety of objects can be considered offensive weapons; bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, machete, dagger, or any piece of wood, glass, metal or stone capable of being used to injure any person.
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The basis of this submission is ‘intent’, and without intent, a crime is not said to have happened. However, the police did not mention in its statement that they were investigating Adefarasin for the intention to commit a crime, but for merely possessing the stun gun.
IS POSSESSING A STUN GUN ILLEGAL AND PUNISHABLE?
Illegal, under some circumstances. Punishable, not exactly.
According to the Firearms Act, “Subject to the provisions of section 2 of this Order, any person having any firearm or ammunition in his possession or under his control in contravention of this Order shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand naira or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years or to both such fine and imprisonment” in Lagos State. Anywhere else in the country, the penalty is one thousand naira or/and a jail term of two years.
Section 2 of the order describes firearms as “any lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged, and includes a prohibited firearm, a personal firearm and a muzzle-loading firearm”.
This means the stun gun is not an illegal firearm and does not meet the descriptive threshold of what a firearm is. However, the law does not punish ownership but use.
While the Firearms Act contains penalties for brandishing firearms, it is silent on penalties for brandishing other offensive weapons.
This is not the case with the Public Order Act, 1979. Section 8 (1) of the law states, “Any person who, while present at any public assembly or meeting, or on the occasion of any public procession, has with him any offensive weapon or missiles, otherwise than in pursuance of lawful authority, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for 12 months without the option of a fine.”
Subsection 3 of this law says, “In this section, ‘offensive weapon or missiles’ includes any cannon, gun, rifle, carbine, machine gun, cap-gun, flint-lock gun, revolver, pistol, air gun, air pistol or other firearms (whether whole or in detached pieces) bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, machete, knife, dagger, axe, cudgel, horsewhip or any piece of wood, metal or other material, or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon or missile and includes tear gas, corrosives, inflammable substances or any other thing that is capable of being used to inflict or cause injury.”
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The Public Order Act is concerned with the right to peaceful assembly, but being in the privacy of his [Adefarasin] vehicle does not constitute public assembly, and the law would not apply in this case.
Ridwan Oke, a lawyer and Principal Partner at Iris Attorneys, faulted the police’s statement and told FIJ that merely possessing the stun gun does not constitute a crime, and he is yet to find a law that prohibits it as the police claimed.
“I have checked several laws of Nigeria and even the Firearms Act, but there is no law that prohibits possession of a stun gun,” Oke told FIJ. “There also is nothing tangible in the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, so the police should explain what they are investigating him for.”
Oke said intention was more important in determining an item is an offensive weapon.
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“If one uses a toy gun to rob another person, as long as the victim believes the weapon to be a real gun, then the suspect has committed a felony,” the lawyer added. “This looks more like self-defence.”
He also said that if the content creator had felt a threat of assault, then it would not matter what the nature of the weapon was, but if there was no threat of assault, then there would be no crime.
Going by Oke’s position and the provisions of the law, the police were wrong in claiming the stun gun was prohibited in Nigeria, and unless intent to commit a crime is established, there can be no criminal liability against Adefarasin.
However, the police can prosecute the pastor for driving without a number plate.
[FIJ]
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