Residents of Offa in Kwara State were gripped by fear late Thursday night after powerful explosions struck parts of the town, damaging residential buildings and commercial structures.
The incident occurred shortly after United States President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out airstrikes targeting ISIS positions in parts of Nigeria.
It remains unclear whether the explosions in Offa were connected to the reported U.S. military action or were conducted solely by Nigerian forces.
Eyewitnesses said debris fell from the sky following the blast, raising suspicions that a drone-delivered explosive may have been used.
A video shows what is believed to be a fragment of a drone bomb lying on the ground shortly after the explosion.
Findings indicate that at least five houses and several shops were destroyed, with debris scattered across affected areas of the town.
Video footage from the scene captured damaged buildings and residents in distress, some of whom appealed to the Kwara State Government for urgent intervention.
Several residents questioned why Offa, described as a largely peaceful town, would experience such an incident.
“Why would they launch a bomb here?” one visibly shaken resident asked. Another added, “We saw the drone remnants after it destroyed a house.”
A member of the local vigilante group who visited the scene confirmed the explosions, stating that they occurred around midnight.
“I got there after 12 a.m. I called the Balogun (war chief), and he came immediately. We went to the hotel where one of the explosions occurred, but I won’t mention the hotel’s name. The hotel was damaged. Another explosion happened around the prayer ground near Ijagbo in Offa,” he said.
He added that several houses, storey buildings, and other structures were affected. “We thank God that no lives were lost,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, authorities had yet to issue an official statement on the incident, and it remains uncertain whether Offa was an unintended target of the reported U.S. strikes or if the explosions were caused by another factor.
(SAHARA REPORTERS)
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