Authorities of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced plans to hand over the driver and two other occupants of the Kia Sorento SUV which killed Nigeria’s first female combat pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, to the police for investigation and prosecution.
The suspects – Mr Nehemiah Adejoh, Mr Igbekele Folorunsho and Mr Festus Gbayegun – all former schoolmates of the deceased at the Air Force Secondary School (now Air Force Comprehensive School) Kaduna, are still in custody, according to the air force authorities. It has now been learnt that at the conclusion of investigations, those found culpable could face charges of manslaughter in court with up to seven years imprisonment.
At a briefing in Abuja on Sunday, NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Comm. Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed that the service would work with the police to prefer appropriate charges against the culpable persons among the vehicle occupants.
Arotile, 24, was killed at the NAF base in Kaduna last Tuesday.
Following the painful demise of the combat pilot, her family and groups including the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, have called for a detailed investigation into her death.
Afenifere outrightly rejected the freak accident theory and called for a deeper probe.
