Defence minister mourns Arotile, says death shocking

The Minister of Defence Maj.-Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (retd) has described the death of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile as “shocking”.

He said her death has cut short in its prime a robust aspirations and expectations of a brighter and better future of a promising career.

He stated this in a condolence message signed by his special assistant on media and publicity Mohammad Abdulkadri on Wednesday.

“The deceased rendered an impactful but short service to the nation pointing out that the nation should be consoled by the maxim which says it is not how far but how well that matters in the voyage of life at personal, interpersonal and national levels.

“Her death has cut short in its prime a robust aspirations and expectations of a brighter and better future of a promising career of Arotile in the nation’s annals of professional pilot records of service in the Nigerian Air Force.

“We have lost a brave, gallant, courageous and patriotic Nigerian at a time when her service is needed most to upscale the tempo of counter terrorism and war against banditry plaguing the nation’s security architecture,” the statement said.

The statement further sympathises with President Muhammadu Buhari, Kogi state government, the Nigerian Armed Forces especially the Nigerian Air Force family and the family of the late Flying Officer. Tolulope Arotile and prayed God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Arotile was commissioned into the NAF in 2017 as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64.

She died in a car crash on Monday in Kaduna.

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