Nigerian Air Force has on Sunday revealed the identity of the person who hit the late Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile with a car, resulting in her death.
NAF had stated that Arotile died on July 14 as a result of head injuries sustained after the car of a former classmate hit her when reversing at NAF Base in Kaduna State.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Ibikunle Daramola, made this known at a just ended briefing in Abuja, Punch reports.
Daramola gave the name of Arotile’s ex-classmate who drove the vehicle that hit Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot as “Mr Nehemiah Adejoh”.
The NAF spokesperson also said the matter would be handed over to the Nigeria Police Force being a civil case.
While giving the report of a preliminary investigation carried out, Daramola said the late Arotile met three of her former schoolmates at the Air Force Secondary School now Air Force Comprehensive School) Kaduna state on the day of the unfortunate incident.
He stated;
Mr Nehemiah Adejoh, Mr Igbekele Folorunsho and Mr Festus Gbayegun, drove past her in a Kia Sorento SUV, with Registration Number AZ 478 MKA. It is noteworthy that Messrs Adejoh, Folorunsho and Gbayegun are all civilians who live outside NAF Base Kaduna, but were on their way to visit one Mrs Chioma Ugwu, wife of Squadron Leader Chukwuemeka Ugwu, who lives at Ekagbo Quarters on the Base.
Upon recognising their schoolmate, Arotile, after passing her, Mr Adejoh, who was driving, reversed the vehicle, ostensibly in an attempt to quickly meet up with the Deceased, who was walking in the opposite direction. In the process, the vehicle struck Flying Officer Arotile from the rear, knocking her down with significant force and causing her to hit her head on the pavement. The vehicle then ran over parts of her body as it veered off the road beyond the curb and onto the pavement, causing her further injuries.
Daramola added that Arotile was rushed to NAF hospital in the base but was confirmed dead at 04:45 pm.
He explained that the three ex-classmates were immediately detained and subjected to alcohol test but no such substance was found in their systems.
He revealed that;
It was however discovered that the driver of the vehicle, Mr. Nehemiah Adejo, did not have a valid driver’s license. Being a civil case, the matter will be handed over to the Nigeria Police with a view to further investigating and charging the suspects to court in accordance with extant laws.
The NAF spokesperson, however, confirmed that the details of the 24-year-old pilot have been communicated to her family who is still mourning.
This comes a day after Nigerian Air Force announce that it has commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of its Flying Officer, Tolulope Arotile.
It also stated that two persons in connection with the accident are being held in NAF base.
Read Also: NAF Opens Investigation Into Arotile’s Death, Two Suspects Held
A Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, had questioned the cause of female officer’s death, rejecting the road accident explanation and calling for a Coroner’s Inquest into her death.
Her family also demanded an investigation into the death of their daughter, stating that;
We are not convinced that Tolu can just die like that in a freak accident. 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.
