Four years ago on 14 July, Tolulope Arotile, a Yoruba lady from Kogi State was killed by a car driver who claimed he wanted to greet her.

Born on December 13, 1995, Arotile died at the age of 24. The then NAF spokesman, Ibikunle Daramola, noted in a statement that Arotile was killed when she was inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force Secondary School classmate, Nehemiah Adejoh, while trying to greet her.

It was said that Adejoh drove a KIA Serento SUV, with registration number AZ 478 MKA and knocked her down while walking along Air Marshal Ibrahim Alfa Road in the NAF Base Kaduna at about 4.30pm on July 14, 2020. While Adejoh drove the car, his friends, Igbekele Folorunsho and Festus Gbayegun, were inside the car when the incident happened.

The 24-year-old pilot participated in major operations, especially against bandits, during her time in service.

The Late Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, a Squadron Pilot at the 405 Helicopter Combat Training Group (405 HCTG) Enugu, attached to the Air Component of Operation GAMA AIKI in Minna, having recently completed her Promotion Examinations, was in Kaduna awaiting deployment for her next assignment.

During this period, she stayed with her sister, Mrs Damilola Adegboye, at Sabo Area in Kaduna, visiting the NAF Base whenever necessary.

The Air Force in its report also noted that Arotile was subsequently rushed to the 461 NAF Hospital Kaduna for treatment but was confirmed dead by the on-call doctor at the 461 NAF Hospital that evening as a result of “blunt force trauma” to her head and significant bleeding resulting from being struck by the vehicle.

The Air Force on July 23 2020 laid the body of the late Arotile to rest at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja with full military honours while many Nigerians paid tributes to the late first female combat helicopter pilot who hailed from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

However, a Kaduna Magistrate’s Court in August 2020, discharged Festus Gbayegun and Igbekele Folorunsho, based on the advice of the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice that the two were only friends of Adejoh and passengers in the vehicle, claiming there was insufficient evidence against them.

Later in October 2020, a Kaduna State High Court granted bail in the sum of N2 million to Nehemiah Adejoh.

Adejoh, who was charged for culpable homicide not punishable by death, was told to produce a surety in like sum who must be resident in Kaduna and an owner of a property in the state.

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