Mr Akintunde Arotile, the father of late Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope, who died on Tuesday, 14th of July, have talked about his daughter’s death.

The father reacting to her death said he had a conversation with his daughter at 1 pm. But at 5 pm that she was in the mortuary.

Arotile Tolulope, 25, died as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base Kaduna.  

Speaking in an interview with Sahara Reporters, her distraught father said he talked to her on the phone on Tuesday, 14th July.

According to him, he spoke to her at about 1:00 pm after she returned from an operation against bandits in Katsina State, and by 5 pm, he was told that she had died.

“She told me that she will later go out to make some photocopies and I told her not to belong and to return home on time because she was staying with my first daughter in Kaduna,” her father said.

“Around 5:30 pm, somebody called me and asked if I had called her and I said yes. The person told me to call her again which I did, but there was no response.

“So, I called her colleagues and they were all crying on the phone. I asked what happened, they were just crying.

“I called one of her bosses who told me that she was in the mortuary. I was shocked because said she was somebody I spoke with four hours earlier and by 5:00 pm she was in the mortuary,”  he said.

The grieving father also said that he had to drive from Abuja to Lokoja, Kogi State, to break the sad news to his wife.

Recalling the early days of Tolulope who was his fourth child, Mr Akotile said Tolulope had always wanted to be a pilot and that he is grateful to God that she fulfilled her dream before she died.

“She has not just been brilliant but wonderful. She did all her Education from kindergarten to nursery at the Air Force base and Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna. 

“One day, when she was very small, she pointed to one small aircraft packed on the field and said one day she was going to fly that aircraft, and I said Amen.

“So, from that day she started working towards getting admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna.

“She had a degree in Mathematics and became an Air Force Cadet. From there, she was sent on several courses abroad and became a pilot. 

“I thank God that she was able to achieve her dreams as a baby before her death,” he said.