TEARS flowed uncontrollably from family and friends, as the remains of first Nigerian female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile were laid to rest at the military cemetery, Abuja.
An ambulance belonging to the Nigerian Air Force with registration number AF 442, had brought in the body at 8.38am.
She was accorded full military honours as the hierarchy of the Nigerian Military led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin paid tributes.
The remains were lowered into the grave at exactly 11.05 am followed by a barrage of 21 gunshots.
The country was thrown into mourning last week Tuesday when the Nigerian Air Force first announced that the country’s first female combat helicopter pilot died from a road traffic accident at the NAF base in Kaduna State.
She died from severe injuries following a road traffic accident at the NAF base in Kaduna, the Air Force said.
The driver that hit her was reportedly a former secondary school classmate who, in the process of reversing his car to give her a lift knocked down the deceased.
President Muhammadu Buhari and other national leaders paid homage to the young military star after her demise.
Eight months before her death, she had been commissioned as Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot.
The burial was restricted to a few guests, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the virus.
Guests included Arotile’s friends, family, and colleagues.
Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, were also sighted at the ceremony.
Other top officials present were the Minister of Women Affairs, Paulen Tallen, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali.
Uninvited guests including unaccredited journalists were politely turned back at the entrance to the cemetery as only vehicles of senior officers and immediate family members of the deceased are allowed to drive in.
