The owner of a hotel in Offa, Kwara State, has claimed that debris from a US airstrike targeting militants in northwest Nigeria struck his property on Christmas Day, injuring three members of staff.
The US carried out surprise airstrikes on December 25 against militants linked to the Islamic State group in Sokoto State, according to sources in Abuja and Washington. Several insurgents were reportedly killed in the operation.
While the Federal Government later confirmed that fragments from the munitions landed in multiple locations, including areas near a hotel in Offa, it maintained that no civilian casualties were recorded.
However, Taofeek Bello, owner of the Solid Worth Hotel, told AFP that parts of what he believed to be a missile hit his hotel late on Christmas night, causing damage and leaving three employees hospitalised.
“On Christmas Day, around past 10 pm, a bomb missile allegedly fired by the US military may have misfired and landed in my hotel,” Bello said. “It struck the building, caused some damage and injured three staff members.”
According to him, one of the injured workers sustained what he described as a traumatic injury and was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Another suffered a serious head injury, while the third was injured in the legs and lap. All three remain in hospital.
Bello said the object first hit an unoccupied room in the 22-room, two-star hotel before landing outside the building. Only two rooms were occupied at the time, and no guests were harmed.
Photographs shared by the hotel owner appeared to show a missile component being inspected and later removed by security personnel.
Kwara State Police confirmed that investigations are ongoing but said they had yet to release official details of the incident.
Responding to the claims, Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, insisted that the operation did not result in civilian casualties.
“There were no casualties except the terrorist(s),” Bwala told AFP on Monday.
Nigeria continues to battle several jihadist groups, including factions linked to the Islamic State, amid growing concerns about cross-border militant activity from the Sahel region.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the US strikes targeted Islamic State elements attempting to infiltrate Nigeria from the Sahel corridor. He added that debris from the operation fell in parts of Sokoto State and Offa, but maintained that no civilians were injured.
Earlier, presidential officials also said the strikes targeted Islamic State militants operating alongside the Lakurawa jihadist group and bandit networks, though the identities of those killed have yet to be independently confirmed.
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