The Nigerian Air Force has began investigation of the death of its combat pilot, Tolulope Arotile who dies on Tuesday, July 14 in an accident.
NAF through its Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola in a interview with The Punch on Friday said two suspects have been apprehended over the young officer’s death.
Clarifying the circumstances that led to the accident, Daramola said she was hit by one of her ex-secondary school classmate who was reversing his car to greet her.
He also revealed that the 24- year old combatant would be buried at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, with full military honours on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
He 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.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force had on Friday announced that Arotile, who hailed from Iffe in the Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, would be buried at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, with full military honours on Thursday, July 23.
Until her death, Arotile was a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64 and she contributed to the to rid the North-Central states of bandits and other criminal elements.
