Everything You Should Know About Junior Pope’s Death

A few days ago, social media was set abuzz with news that of one of Nollywood’s actors, Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope, had died. Before his death, the popular Nollywood actor had featured in over 50 films. Some of these films inlcude Wrong Initiation, Honey Money, Blood Affair, No Way Through, and Adissa. Here’s everything you should know about the actor’s death:

The actor was said to have been going to a movie set with 11 people who were hired by Adamma Luke for the project “Another Side of Life”. Since the accident, the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), in a press release announced the suspension of the producer of the unreleased film and also placed a ban on shooting of films in riverine areas. The statement read in part: “Following the tragic incident of boat mishap that claimed the life of Mr John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope and four other crew members at the waterside of River Niger Cable point, Asaba on April 10, 2024 on a movie set titled ‘The other side of Life’ produced by Adanma Luke, the leadership of the Guild has taken the following decisions: All films that involve riverine areas and boat riding are at this moment suspended indefinitely; no shooting on all locations nationwide on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The film titled ‘Another Side of Life’ is suspended indefinitely. No actor is allowed to work with Adamma Luke as a producer till further notice and while we keep searching for the bodies of the remaining persons, may their souls rest in peace”.

Since the tragic accident, authorities like the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Anambra Police state command have commenced investigation into the cause of the accident and the search for the missing passengers are still ongoing. NIWA Area Manager, Mr Suleiman Nicholas, told Vanguard that contrary to the claim that the incident happened in Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area, of the state, the incident happened at the Akpaka Area, a suburb of Onitsha and Nsugbe, Anambra East Local Government Area, when the victims were coming back from Anam, where they went to shoot a movie. The Anambra state Police PRO, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement said, “On being notified of the capsize, Anambra Command Marine Police deployed for rescue operations and successfully rescued six actors and one actress from the water. Two others who were unconscious were also pulled out with the aid of fishermen and conveyed to the Delta State Command Marine Police Jetty where other members of the crew who travelled in the first boat were waiting. They were handed over to the President of the Actors Guild for conveyance to the hospital, while the rescue team went back in search of three others who are still missing as at the time of this release.” He also established that although the accident happened within the jurisdiction of Anambra State Command, issues relating to the release of bodies of the accident victims to their families will be handled by the Delta State Police command.

Nollywood actors like Yvonne Jegede, Rita Edochie, filmmaker Samuel Olatunji, and many others took to their social media pages to mourn the deceased actor. In some of the farewell posts, the actors strongly advocated for the implementation of safety measures on future movie sets. They stated that film producers should endeavour to employ professional health practitioners for everyone on set. They also paid their condolences to the Junior Pope’s wife, Jennifer Awele Okpuno. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Ali Nuhu, in a press release stated that the death of actors like Junior Pope is detrimental to the Nigerian film industry.

The wife of Anambra state governor, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, also sent condolences to Junior Pope’s family. She further expressed her displeasure over the disheartening attitude of bystanders who filmed the actor’s last moments instead of seeking medical help. Mrs. Soludo used this opportunity to put out a call for more empathy from bystanders who find people in distress. After Junior Pope was confirmed dead, one of the other actors on the boat blamed the driver’s lack of experience and the fact that occupants of the boat weren’t wearing lifeboats. The search for the three other missing persons including Abigail Fredrick (Vice Chairman of Costumer Designers Guild of Nigeria) and Akwa-Ibom State-born make-up artist, Precious Oforum (Sound engineer) and Joseph Anointing (Gaffer), continues as their colleagues in Nollywood and sympathisers searched the riverside.