Flying object crashes into home in Ibadan •Controversy trails mission of spacecraft •Object believed to be US drone

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A mysterious spacecraft, which residents of Awotan in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State called a “drone”, was reported to have crashed into a building at Omiremi Quarters in the community, leaving a crater on the roof of the building, just as aviation sources confirmed the object as a United States’ drone on an espionage mission in Nigeria.
Considering the registration number, TX 5803, inscribed on a black battery under the craft, a source said the space craft must have taken off from  NASA base in Texas in the US, stating that the battery attached to the spacecraft powered it and enabled it to move around so that it could do the bidding of those who sent it.
Though many aviation sources told Sunday Tribune that the object could be a device used in espionage, another source, however, believed that the craft was a “nondescript aviation device”.
It will be recalled that the United States of America has, in recent times, come under attack by other countries for spying on their activities which may have confirmed the discovery of the spacecraft in Ibadan.
The craft, which was said to have dropped down from the orbit, flew into a toilet in the house of Ashipa of Awotan, Chief Tajudeen  Adetoro, a few minutes after his grandson, Afeez  Adewale and daughter-in-law, Adikat, left the toilet where they had gone to answer the call of nature.
According to Chief Adetoro, the mysterious aircraft forced itself into the toilet through the roof making deafening sound, saying it could have killed Afeez and his mother, if it had met them in the toilet.
The spacecraft, with a product number QR X30, has four stands and a rounded compartment housing its engine. It has a dry cell battery, USB drive, a censor and cables, while each of its stands has a two-way roving fan mounted on them.
The residents of the sleepy community told Sunday Tribune that the object was not a toy due to the fearful noise it made and the way it flew about, adding that it could be an explosive.
“When it flew out, we rushed after it and it was found hanging on the antennae of our neighbour...making a terrible noise and emitting heavy smoke,” Chief Adetoro narrated.
He said they ran for safety on hearing the loud bang made on the roof of their house only to discover that the object had entered the toilet hitting its wall in an attempt to exit.
Information obtained about the object from the internet revealed that it shares similarities with a device called Walkera QR X350 GPS which is sold for roughly $500.
Though the product description on it is not intelligible, Sunday Tribune learnt that it could be a remote-controlled transmitter that gives no signal when in the air, but which is used for gathering information.
How flying object crashed into building in Ibadan Mother, son escaped death
It is almost unbeliavebale, but it is real. A drone-like object fell from the sky on the roof of a house in Ibadan last Sunday shattering the roof of the house. MARUF BELLO writes that luck saved a mother and her son from being killed by the object.
FOR Afeez Adewale, a 16-year-old boy, sheer luck saved him and Adikat, his mother, from being sent to their early graves a few minutes after they left the toilet in their house, last Sunday, at Omiremi Quarters, Awotan, Ibadan.
Afeez had gone to the toilet to answer the call of nature not long after his mother had come out of the same toilet only to hear a loud bang on the roof of their house, specifically the toilet.
The object was said to have forcefully fallen on the roof of the toilet breaking through and shattering its asbestos.
According to the Asipa of Awotan and landlord of the house, Chief Tajudeen Adetoro, it wasn’t long after Afeez and his mother left the rest room when they suddenly heard a frightening sound on the roof of the toilet.
Chief Adetoro, who is Afeez’s grandfather, said it was God that saved the mother and son, saying the source of the drone-like object was unknown.
“We were in panic; we were almost dead when we heard the sound suddenly and all of us scampered for safety. It was after a few minutes that we thought that hiding in the house was not the solution but to find a way to get the object out of our house due to the horrible and disturbing noise it was making that my son and I fearfully moved to the scene to know what it was.
“When we got there, we stood a little away looking at it from a short distance. It was then we saw it clearly and it was seriously struggling making a frightening noise in its bid to find an escape route. As it was struggling, it was hitting every angle of the toilet walls forcefully shrieking and trying to exit the toilet.
“It was during the struggle that it escaped through the same point it gained entry. When it flew out, we rushed after it and it was found hanging on the antenna of our neighbour. It hung there making a terrible noise and emitting heavy smoke. I think in the process of struggle to get it out, it lost one of its components, a stand. I asked my son to climb the facial board to remove it.
“When he brought it down, it was heavy and there were so many red illuminating lights all over it blinking every second,” the chief narrated.
He said when the material had been removed from where it was stuck so that they could examine it thoroughly, the object repeatedly tried to fly away.
“It  was then I asked my son to remove some of its compartments to render it inactive. We removed the battery, its censor, among others. At that time, everybody in the neighbourhood had gathered to see the wonderful object,” he added.
Chief Adetoro said they initially thought it was a mere toy but after a close look, it was discovered that “the material could be a bomb, more so that ever since we captured and incapacitated it nobody had come looking for it because we initially felt that it was one of the toys parents bought for their children for Christmas and New Year.
“Also, when we considered the manner with which it got in and exited, we felt that the object was being monitored and controlled from somewhere. After careful consideration and examination of the compartments of the object we thought it could be an explosive.
“When nobody from this community came to claim it, we concluded that the object was more than what we thought it to be; it must have travelled a long distance,” Afeez’s father said.
The Chief Imam of Awotan Central Mosque, Sheik Abdulai Adesina, and a woman who are both neighbours of Chief Adetoro confirmed the incident, saying “the sound of the object was highly terrifying and fearful.”
When the object was examined, it is made up of components such as a dry cell battery, a censor housed by a white case, a USB  (memory card) drive and a panel that is well cased as well as lots of cables.
According to Chief Adetoro, the community had informed security agents about the incident and called for investigation on it, noting that if left unravelled, it would be difficult to douse tension and erase fear among the residents of the community who now believed that they were being targeted for attacks.
The object, Sunday Tribune investigation revealed, has since been handed over to security operatives.