‘Investigate Tolulope Arotile’s Death’- Sister of Nigeria’s First Combat Pilot Tells NAF

The family of Tolulope Arotile, the first female combat helicopter pilot of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF), has demanded a thorough investigation into her death.

Speaking with PUNCH, Damilola Adegboye, her elder sister, said the family is devastated by her untimely death and is not convinced that she died in a freak accident.

Arotile allegedly died from injuries she sustained after she was knocked down by a former classmate at the Kaduna air force base.

Adegboye, however, said the family is demanding a thorough investigation into the late officer’s death.

“We in the family are not convinced that Tolu can just die like that in a freak accident,” she was quoted as saying.

“I know that the military is well trained in the art of investigation, we want them to carry out a thorough investigation that can convince us beyond all doubts that the incident that led to her death was real.”

She said on the day of the incident, Arotile and herself were in the room where she was sleeping when she received a call from someone that is likely a senior colleague and reluctantly left for the base as instructed.

“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 the Air force base. She felt reluctant and I offered to drop her off,” she said.

“One hour later, I read online that something serious had happened to her. I couldn’t believe that somebody I just dropped off is dead.”

Her mother also went down memory lane about how she gave birth to her describing her as a special child adding that fasting and prayer was her hobby.