The families of the late Tolupe Arotile, Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot are seeking quick dispensation of justice in the case which was meant to unravel the cause of her untimely death.
They also demanded conclusion of the court case, to enable a full closure and allow both the spirit of the dead and living come to rest.
Arotile died in an accident on July 14, 2020, at the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) base in Kaduna at the age of 24.
Her father, Akintunde Arotile, said he is yet to heal over the sad incident and he is more disturbed by the prolonged case investigating her death,adding that mother to the late Tolulope, is more disturbed as she daily laments over the delayed case with justice yet to be served 10 months after.
He said:“We are trying as a family to put a closure to the whole thing particularly with the case that is still in court. Up till now, it has not been easy. If the case has been concluded we will try and see if we can put a closure to that chapter and we will just mourn her till maybe when I and my wife will die.But the case is still on. I don’t even know when the next hearing will be. My wife is so disturbed because of that.
“It’s like you have an open wound that is not healing. If the case is concluded, our minds will be at rest,” he said at an event organised by the Kogi State Government and unveiling of a cinema movie project in Tolulope’s honour.
Mr Arotile emphasized that if only justice can be served as soon as possible, their minds will be put to rest.
He said:“To show that you cannot just kill a serving officer, a pilot in the Air Force Base premises and the case is being treated as nobody.You know our normal judicial service system, the case keeps dragging on…that is a problem for us,” Mr Arotile lamented.
The NAF had earlier in July 2020 released its preliminary report on the death of Tolulope in a car accident at their base in Kaduna,which revealed that Ms Arotile was killed by her friend who mistakenly hit her with his vehicle.
