More details have emerged on the demise of Nigeria’s first female combat pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope  Arotile.

Arotile died at the Nigerian Air Force base in Kaduna on Tuesday. She died less than a year after she was decorated as the first female combatant helicopter pilot.

The Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Com. Ibikunle Daramola, revealed this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

He stated, “Flying Officer Arotile died on July 14, 2020 at the age of 24, when she was inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former classmate at the Air Force Secondary School while trying to greet her.

It was learnt that the unnamed ex-classmate has been detained following the death of the combat helicopter pilot.

Nigeria’s first-ever female combat helicopter pilot Tolulope Arotile died on Tuesday as a result of head injuries sustained in a road traffic accident in the northwestern state of Kaduna, according to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).

Arotile, in her 20s, contributed to the efforts to rid the Nigerian north-central region of armed groups by flying several combat missions, said a terse official statement.

The NAF described her demise as “unfortunate,” saying her service to Nigeria was “short but impactful.” The young pilot was commissioned as an officer of the NAF in 2017.

As the first woman to fly a fighter helicopter in Nigeria, Arotile became a popular figure in the country after she was recognized by the NAF for her passion in doing what has been stereotyped to be a man’s job.

More reactions from concern nigerians demanding thorough investigation into her death below: