Skip to main content

BIAFRA : Air force’s first female combatant helicopter pilot dies in freak accident


Eight months ago, Tolulope Arotile, the first female combat helicopter pilot of the Nigerian Air Force, was decorated by Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff.

Arotile had just ended a programme at the Starlite International Training Academy, South Africa.


While decorating her alongside Kafayat Sanni, the first female fighter pilot, Abubakar had said: “They are not only female officers but outstanding aviators. While one of the two pilots is the first female fighter pilot in the 55 years history of the NAF, the second one is the first female combatant helicopter pilot.”


But less than a year after, Arotile was killed in a freak accident at the Nigerian Air Force base in Kaduna state.

According to a statement, the deceased did not recover from the injuries sustained in the accident.

She was said to have lived a “short but impactful life”.

“It is with great sorrow that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) regretfully announces the unfortunate demise of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, who died today, 14 July 2020, as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base Kaduna,” the statement read.‬

“Until her death, ‪Flying Officer Arotile, who was commissioned into the NAF in September 2017 as a member of 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, late Arotile, who hailed 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.

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf of 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.”

When she graduated as the best flight student from her set in 2017, her parents were among those who attended a ceremony held in her honour.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nnamdi Kanu Sends Important Message To IPOB Members From Detention

    The detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has sent an important message to his followers over the Biafra movement. The embattled separatist according to one of his brothers, Prince Kanu Meme, has asked his disciples to trust and comply with directives from the Directorate of State (DOS). Boasting his belief in the separatist movement’s administrative structure, Kanu said “I’m DOS and DOS is me”.  Naija News understands that the DOS, headed by diaspora-based Chika Edoziem has been contending with authority issues since Kanu’s arrest in Kenya in June 2021. It has been observed that IPOB is in disintegration following Nnamdi Kanu’s rearrest and detention. The present situation of the Biafran movement can be likened to that of sheep without a shepherd. However, Kanu in a conversation with his sib...

BIAFRA NEWS : Justice Nyako Is Partisan, Must Step Down From Nnamdi Kanu’s Case – IPOB

  Justice Nyako Is Partisan, Must Step Down From Nnamdi Kanu’s Case – IPOB  IPOB, which made the demand in a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, condemned what it described as the Nigerian government's political and judicial persecution of Kanu using Justice Nyako.  The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has asked Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court to step down from the case of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.   Bnbpick.io - Earn Free BNB, Faucet, Multiply BNB game Bnbpick.io https://bnbpick.io Bnbpick.io is an Free BNB faucet that enables users the ability to earn free BNB every hour. You are able solve captchas in order to accrue these litecoins.      IPOB, which made the demand in a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, condemned what it described as the Nigerian government's political and judicial persecution of Kanu using Justice Nyako.  According to Powerfu...

IPOB: The Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the Biafran War

  THE HISTORY OF BIAFRA AND NIGERIA WAR  Israel, Nigeria and the Biafra civil war    The Nigerian Civil War , commonly known as the Biafran War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role. Within a year, the Federal Government troops surrounded Biafra, capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt. The blockade imp...