The Olofa of Offa, Oba Muftahu Gbadamosi, has appealed to residents of the Offa community to remain calm and go about their end-of-year celebrations, following an unidentified object that fell and destroyed parts of three buildings in the town.
An explosion damaged parts of the buildings on Thursday night, injuring about five people, including a couple and their little daughter.
The sad incident occurred along the Offa-Ijagbo road.
According to a landlady whose house was damaged, the incident occurred around 10 pm when she started hearing an unusual humming noise, which later led to the object falling on her building.
“I don’t know exactly what happened. Something landed on the ground. I can’t really describe it,” the woman, identified as Victoria Macharty.
“It was this morning that they came and picked up the object. There was a small box, another item that looked like rims, and pieces of iron.
“We stayed here and did not allow anyone to enter, so nobody would pick anything. This morning, the chairman of our local government came with the said was an anti-bomb unit, and they packed the items.”
She listed things damaged to include “the fence, the house, and two windows.
On Thursday, the United States Department of Defense said “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the strikes conducted at the behest of the Nigerian government.
Trump also announced the strikes, saying, “The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.
“May God bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” he wrote on Truth Social.
However, the Offa monarch, in an interview with Channels Television, said the community was not targeted for attack by any military operations from either within or outside the country.
The military, he added, is still investigating what happened and urged the people not to panic.
“There was an explosion yesterday that destroyed about three houses, but there were no casualties. It happened around 12 midnight.
“I am just using this opportunity to appeal to the Offa community …that thing was not targeted at Offa. It was just like a stray bullet.
“I want them to calm down so they won’t panic. They should go about their Christmas and New Year celebrations in peace. Nobody is a target.
“They are not attacking us, and we are not attacking anybody,” he said.
The Kwara explosion followed a US strike on the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves in Sokoto State.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who revealed this in a statement on Friday, said a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms in the joint Nigeria–United States operation.
He noted that during the course of the operation, debris from expended munitions fell in Jabo, Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and in Offa, Kwara State, near the premises of a hotel.
He, however, added that “No civilian casualties” were recorded in either location, and relevant authorities promptly secured the affected areas.
