The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said that it decided to bury Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile without carrying out any autopsy because the family of the deceased did not demand for it.
NAF came up with the defence following the call on the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to “provide more explanations on the cause of Arotile’s death as the accident theory is untenable.”
Speaking on a television programme in Lagos after Arotile was buried at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja, spokesman for NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, also said the second factor which made autopsy unnecessary was because the circumstances surrounding Arotile’s death were clear.
He added that the deceased’s parents were satisfied with the way the service handled the incident.
“Regarding the request for an autopsy or otherwise, that would have been initiated by the family but based on discussions with them and the fact that witnesses were there at the time, and she was taken to the NAF hospital in Kaduna, there were no doubts as to the cause of death, which was a head injury as a result of blunt force trauma caused by the vehicle hitting her from the rear.
“So, in consultation with her family, her father, an engineer, Akintunde Arotile, said he wanted closure on this matter and that he was comfortable with NAF investigation, which of course is also being transferred to the police because the police were involved from the outset.
“An autopsy was not done because it wasn’t requested; the cause of death was already known based on the investigation and how she was taken to the hospital and the confirmation was made. There were no doubts in that regard and there was no request from the family for that specifically. No autopsy was done,” he said.
Besides, he said the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps were invited to investigate the incident.
“First of all, we carried out a preliminary investigation to determine those who were involved, their level of involvement, interviewed witnesses and looked at the scene. That was our own first phase of investigation because it happened on the base.
“The Air Force has its own Air Police Directorate where we have forensic and K9 investigators many of whom are trained in and out of the country. Some of them also trained in police institutions and there is a lot of collaboration between the Nigerian Air Force Air Police Wing and the Nigeria Police. Immediately it occurred, we involved the police.”
Meanwhile, he said the NAF had handed over the case file to the police for investigation and prosecution of the prime suspect, Adejoh since the matter it involved civilians.
“In terms of handing over to the police…t does not preclude further investigation by the police, they will still call all the witnesses, and they would still interview everybody and also visit the crime scene.
“From the first day, the traffic officers from Kawo police station were invited; an inspector and two corporals were brought in and were able to capture crime scene evidence that was relevant,” he said.
It would be recalled that Arotile, 24, died on Tuesday, July 14, at the NAF Base in Kaduna less than a year after she was decorated as the first female combat helicopter pilot.
The late FO was hit by a car driven by her former classmate at the Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna, Mr. Nehemiah Adejoh who was excited to see her and reversed a car to exchange greetings and in the process knocked her down causing her to hit her head on a concrete pavement.
In its preliminary report, Daramola said: “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 kerb and onto the pavement, causing her further injuries.”
