Nigeria’s first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the country’s Air Force, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, has died as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at the NAF Base in Kaduna.
A statement by the NAF Director Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola says until her death on July 14 2020, Flying Officer Arotile, who was commissioned into the NAF in September 2017 as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64, was the first ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Service.
During her short but impactful stay in the Service, the late Arotile, who hails from Iffe in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, contributed significantly to the efforts 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.
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The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf of officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the Service, commiserates with the family of late Flying Officer Arotile over the irreparable loss.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
