Nigeria’s first ever and only female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile , of the Nigerian Airforce has died.
Tolulope died in Kaduna on Tuesday after she sustained head injuries from a road accident.
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Her demise was confirmed by the
Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola.
Daramola narrated to newsmen that the Flying Officer past away owing to head injuries she sustained in an accident at the Nigeria Air Force base in Kaduna.
Flying Officer Arotile who was
Commissioned into the NAF in September 2017 as a member of Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64. She was the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Service.
Arotile who hails from Iffe in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, is said to have had an stay in the Service.
She contributed significantly to the efforts of the NAF to rid the North Central States of armed bandits and other criminal elements by flying several combat missions under Operation GAMA AIKI In Minna, Niger State.
“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the NAF, commiserates with the family of late Flying Officer Arotile over this irreparable loss. We pray that the Almighty God grants her soul eternal rest,” Daramola stated.
According to Air Commodore Daramola, Arotile’s tragic demise could pose a major setback for the fight against insurgency and banditry in the country.
