Human Rights Activist, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN has disclosed that there are questions that need to be answered credibly, consequent upon unveiling the identity of the killers of Tolupe Arotile by the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).
This is contained in a statement issued by the learned silk, dated 19th day of July, 2020 which was made available to TheNigeriaLawyer titled: “MORE QUESTIONS FOR NAF ON TOLULOPE AROTILE”
The learned silk started by making reference to the interim investigation’s report of the NAF thus:
“Upon recognising their schoolmate, Arotile, after passing her, Mr Adejoh, who was driving, reversed the vehicle, ostensibly in an attempt to quickly meet up with the Deceased, who was walking in the opposite direction. In the process, the vehicle struck Flying Officer Arotile from the rear, knocking her down with significant force and causing her to hit her head on the pavement. The vehicle then ran over parts of her body as it veered off the road beyond the kerb and onto the pavement, causing her further injuries.”
In the light of the above, he noted that there are 10 new questions that beg for answers. “Now, here are the new questions.” He said.
He asked that based on circumstances, between hooting the horn & reversing a car , which should be the proper way of calling the attention of a person and also, whether any car would reverse by itself on speed.
“Which is the best mode of calling the attention of a person, between hooting the horn of a moving car and reversing it?”
“Which is the best mode of recognition, between facing a person head on and using a rear or side mirror, after passing her? Do you recognize people after passing them by? Will any car reverse by itself while on top speed or the driver has to stop first and thereafter engage the gear in reverse?”
Besides, he questioned whether a car driven in an opposite direction can easily veer off its track without colluding with another car to hit a victim and whether the deceased was not moving at all.
“How does a vehicle driven in opposite direction of a person, veer off its own lane, in reverse position, on top speed, it is able to avoid all other cars on its own lane, it is able to jump suddenly to the opposite lane, it is able to stop all incoming cars on the opposite lane and to go straight to hit its target?
“Was Tolulope not moving? Was she deaf in any of her ears? Was she the only one in the Mammy market area of NAF base that was supposed to be crowded?”
In addition, he questioned the other two persons in the car and the occurrence of the event which happened during the day, without the deceased being on notice of the said vehicle coming towards her.
“The two other occupants of the car, were they also facing forward, whist the car was reversing on top speed, not caring about the fate of the car and their destination?
“This event happened during the day, so presumably Tolulope too must have spotted the car. She had dropped her phone for charging, so she could not have been distracted. So, how come she was not sensitive to the approaching car?”
“How was NAF able to conclude in its first press release that the car was driven by an over excited secondary school mate, when there was no mutual recognition between the driver and Tolulope in the first instance?” He added.
Furthermore, he questioned how the car was able to hit the deceased without her noticing same.
“How is the car able to hit Tolulope before hitting the pavement? For the driver to be able to veer off to the opposite lane without prior accident means that he was conscious of the movement of the car. So, how come he didn’t notice Tolulope or did he run her down deliberately?”
Besides, he questioned the involvement of the Federal Road Safety Commission and why Police was not part of the process of investigation from the beginning.
“What was the business of Road Safety Corps in all this? Is FRSC normally deployed to military barracks and formations?
“How come the police has not been involved in this investigation from the onset?” He said.
In any case, the learned silk stated that the recent press release of the NAF is laced with doubts.
“The latest press release of NAF has created more doubts and suspicions than it attempted to douse.
“We need more credible answers.” He concluded.
