Tolulope Arotille: 2 detained, as Airforce commences inquest into Flying Officer death
Tolulope Arotille

Authorities of the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, have commenced discreet investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of NAF Helicopter Combat Pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotille.

The development is coming following a complaint by her family through her elder sister, Mrs Damilola Adegboye that the death of the combat pilot was suspicious and should be investigated.

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iBrandTV had reported that, Tolulope Arotile died after a road accident involving a former school mate.

The NAF 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.

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However, two persons are said to have been detained in Kaduna while Provost Officers are discreetly working to unearth the conversations she had on her phone on the day of the incident.

A source in Kaduna said the action of the NAF is to ensure there are no loopholes in the immediate and remote reasons that caused Tolulope’s death.

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READ ALSO: Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Arotile dies in an accident

According to Mrs Adegboye, the explanation given by the Nigerian Airforce that allegedly led to Flying Officer Arotile’s death was not convincing enough.

“We in the family are not convinced Tolu can just die like that in a freak accident. I know that the military is well trained in the art of investigations.

“We want them to carry out a thorough investigation that can convince us beyond all reasonable doubts that the incident that led to her death was real.

“I and Tolu were in the room on the day of the incident, a call came into her phone which she picked but from the way they spoke, I knew the caller must be a senior officer calling her to come to Airforce Base. She felt reluctant and I offered to drop her off.

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“One hour later, I saw the story online that something serious has happened to her. I couldn’t believe that somebody I just dropped off was dead,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, stated that at the end of the investigation, whatever information needs to go out will go out.

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“It is standard practice. So, we are investigating the circumstances leading to her death by a road traffic accident. It is an investigation. It may go beyond NAF.”

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.”

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