Classmate who knocked down Arotile ‘has no driver’s licence’

A former classmate who hit Tolulope Arotile, first female combat helicopter pilot of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), “has no driver’s licence”. 

Arotile died from head injuries on Tuesday when she was knocked down by a car driven by her old classmate at the Kaduna NAF base.

Military sources, according to Channels TV, said the classmate is a civilian who has no valid driving credentials. 

The source reportedly said the driver, accompanied by his friends, visited his relatives at the NAF base and decided to drop off the late pilot whom he spotted on the road inside the base.

Arotile was knocked down in the process of reversing the car, the source said. 

The source added that the driver and other occupants of the car have been taken into custody by NAF. 

Damilola Adegboye, Arotile’s immediate elder sister, had demanded a probe into her death.

According to NAF, Arotile will be buried on July 23 in Abuja with full military honours.

Tributes have continued to pour in for the late pilot, who was decorated less than one year ago.

She has been described as an exceptional officer who was very committed to her job.

“I joined the military simply out of passion for it. Being a military personnel has been a long time ambition; the carriage and what it stands for are simply exceptional,” a statement by NAF quoted her as saying.