The three suspects involved in the death of late Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile are now in police custody.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, confirmed the development in a statement on Friday.
The three suspects are Messrs Nehemiah Adejoh, Igbekele Folorunsho and Festus Gbayegun, who were in the vehicle that knocked down and killed Arotile, Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot.
Adejoh reportedly drove the vehicle.
Speaking at the handover of the suspects to the police at the NAF Base Kaduna, the Commander 453 Base Services Group, Group Captain Hadi Ahmed, recalled how, on 14 July 2020, at about 4.30pm, a KIA Serento SUV, with Registration Number AZ 478 MKA (Kaduna), driven by Adejoh, with the two others as passengers, knocked down Arotile when she was walking along Air Marshal Ibrahim Alfa Road in the NAF Base, Kaduna, leading to her eventual death.
Ahmed highlighted that the three persons involved in the accident, who were former schoolmates of the late Flying Officer at the Air Force Secondary School Kaduna, were on their way to visit the wife of a serving senior officer residing in the Base before the accident occurred.
He stated that the NAF would continue to cooperate with the Nigeria Police and provide all necessary support to enable it carry forward the case to its logical conclusion.
It would be recalled that the NAF, during a press conference on July 19, 2020, had informed Nigerians that the three persons involved in the accident would be handed over to the Nigeria Police for further investigation and possible prosecution in line with extant laws.
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