Captain Harrison Adekunle Kuti, first Nigerian commercial pilot to fly Boeing 747, is dead, The Nation reports.

He died on March 28 at 78 after a brief illness.

Captain Harrison Kuti trained as a pilot and attended Acme School of Aeronautics, Texas and Burnside-Ott Aviation School, Miami.

His professional and occupational interest spanned aviation, dredging and marine engineering and shipping marine operations.

He joined the Nigerian Airways Corporation in 1964 and worked for about 20 years before retiring in 1983 as a Senior Training Captain.

In 1984, he was appointed Managing Director, Zenen Verstoep Company, a Dredging, Civil and Marine Engineering Company, where he led a team of experts to execute various government projects, including the dredging of Lekki axis.