The Nigerian Air Force on Friday stated that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of its Flying Officer, Tolulope Arotile, in a road accident, adding that two persons were being held.
The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, stated these in an interview with our correspondent, saying at the end of the investigation, “whatever information needs to go out will go out.”
The NAF spokesman later in a release on Friday noted that Arotile would be buried Thursday, July 23, at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, with full military honours.
The NAF noted that it would continue to support female pilots’ training as 11 were currently undergoing training within and outside Nigeria.
The country was thrown into mourning on Tuesday when the NAF first announced that Arotile, Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, died at the NAF base in Kaduna State from a road traffic accident.
The air force said the female officer sustained head injuries from the accident when she was “inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force secondary school classmate while trying to greet her.”
Arotile, a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64, hailed from Iffe in the Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, and contributed to the efforts to rid the North-Central states of bandits and other criminal elements by flying combat missions.
She was particularly a squadron leader in Operation Gama Aiki in Minna Niger State.
Notable Nigerians, including the President Muhammadu Buhari had since Wednesday expressed shock over her death.
A Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, however, on Thursday raised suspicion over the death of the female officer, rejecting the road accident explanation and calling for a Coroner’s Inquest into her death.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, NAF spokesman, Daramola, said, “First of all, in my first statement, I said she died from a road traffic accident. I further clarified the nature of the road traffic accident where one of her excited classmates who saw her reversed his car which led to him hitting her and knocking her down. This led to head injuries and a lot of haemorrhaging which ultimately resulted in her death.
“The two boys are in custody and the NAF will do a thorough investigation into the matter. It is a routine process – our own processes that are ongoing because it happened inside a NAF base. At the appropriate time, whatever information needs to go out will go out. But we cannot pre-empt that investigation process.
“Whatever needs to be known will be known; it is standard practice. So, we are investigating the circumstances leading to her death by a road traffic accident. It is an investigation because it may go beyond NAF.”
In a release titled, ‘Late Flying Officer Arotile to be buried in Abuja with full military honours on July 23,’ the NAF spokesman added, “The remains of late Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile who died on July 14 will be laid to rest with full military honours at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja on July 23.
“Meanwhile, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has received some members of the Federal Executive Council as well as members of the National Assembly who visited him at Headquarters NAF at various times on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, some Nigerians on Twitter have said the Chief of the Air Staff, Abubakar, must provide more explanations into the cause of Arotile’s death, adding that the “accident theory” was untenable.
Nigerians sent various messages to the CAS via his Twitter handle betweeen Wednesday and Friday evening, after the air chief put out a condolence message on Arotile.
Abubakar had said on Twitter, “I was heartbroken when I received the sad news of the death of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile in Kaduna. Tolulope, who was winged in October 2019, was one of our shining stars.
“She was a very intelligent, disciplined confident and courageous young officer. As a squadron pilot in Operation Gama Aiki in Minna, Niger State, she flew her quota of anti-banditry combat missions to ensure a safer Nigeria. I condole with the family over this irreparable loss and pray that God grant her soul eternal rest.”
A Nigerian, Mr Adehola Adeola, replied the air chief, “Thank you, Sadique. Honestly, this statement is unacceptable. Now, get honour by setting up a fact-finding panel to inquire about the death of Tolulope. The death of Tolu is suspicious under a government that sends soldiers to a war front but keeps releasing terrorists they subdue and arrest.”
Another commentator, Jacobson Bright, said, “Very suspicious and shady; I am beginning to see reasons why Nigerian soldiers are voluntarily resigning their appointments. How could that promising, untapped talented young lady just die like that? Somebody must come with better explanations. Something is fishy about her death.”
Another person, Mazo Ezinwa, replied to the air chief, “Sir, someone needs to be held accountable. We refuse to believe this national asset died by accident. Investigate her death; that’s what we’re demanding for – justice for Arotile.”
Yet another Nigerian, Emmy Bac, said, “I honestly think there should be an inquiry into the sad loss of the celebrated young lady. Accidents do happen, but this should not just be accepted as a usual accident. We can be less flippant with the sad loss of a national asset of this nature.”
(Punch)
This is not the era of town criers, animal horn, drum to pass information across to people. The world has grow beyond using ordinary letter to diseminate information and facts to a highly populated country like our. This country is no more in the period of 1940s and 1950s where only the wealthy people eligible for sound education.We are in civilized dispensation where many people are learned. The science and technology have made every things faster, more accurate and easier by digitalization through CCT camera, common hand set, digital camera, telecommunication etc. All these are available in Nigeria which have been used many times to incidents like collapsed buildings, flooding, fire outbreak, plane crash, road accidents scenes etc. The Nigeria Air Force should answer these questions. Why is it hard to show Nigerian the scene of the accident, the used by her friend and he was still in the car? Why are they displaying someones pictures as the friend the killed the lady via mare car reverse after peoples’ comment when it is almost a week of her death? Does it means that they don’t have CCT camera, cell phones not available to that can be used to record the scene of the incident? Let stop deceiving Nigerians, the perpetrators of her killing realy know why they killed her. Some of them are heavily benefiting from the huge allocations giving to securities always and they are using it as their tools and means of enriching themselves, they are not happy because she was reducing their population as a result they killed her. This is one of the reasons why almost 400 Nigeran army resign from the job about two weeks ago. The lady in question is not the type of person they need to achieve their aim. That is one of the reasons she was killed. The people in volved in her death will surely face the wrath of GOD because was doing the work for this country to experience peace but spme bad element said no due to their selfish interests. There no one who can run away from GODs purnishment.