Yoruba Pan-African group, Afenifere has called for an investigation into the death of Tolulope Arotile, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) pilot.
The 24-year-old Tolulope died on Tuesday in what has been described as a freak accident at the NAF Base in Kaduna State.
She was Nigeria’s first female combatant pilot.
NAF had explained that she died “when she was inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force Secondary School classmate while trying to greet her”.
But Afenifere, through its spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, in a rejoinder said NAF “spewed some untruth” in saying that Tolu died “as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at the NAF Base Kaduna.”
“It was only eyewitness accounts that unofficially released that it was a colleague of hers who reversed his car to knock her down on the road.”
However, the group referred to unofficial accounts of the story that she died after she was knocked down, after she got back from a combat operation.
Afenifere declared that it does not accept that her death was an accident “until the report of a coroner says how she died and how a supposed attempt to stop and greet could come with a death impact”.
The group further noted that the colleague who actually wanted to greet her, but killed her mistakenly should be thoroughly investigated.
Afenifere also sympathized with the grieving family “who have been thrown into deep mourning following the killing of their daughter not in combat but within the barracks.”
Nigerians have taken to different platforms to mourn the young pilot since the sad news of her death broke on Tuesday night.
