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Tag: Junior Pope

  • Junior Pope: South East filmmakers stage peaceful protest over the death of 5 members

    Junior Pope: South East filmmakers stage peaceful protest over the death of 5 members

    Film making groups under the auspices of South East Film Crew Welfare took to the street protesting the manner five of their members died after a boat conveying them to shooting location capsized in Anambra River.

    Junior Pope, Abigail Frederick, Precious Oforum, Joseph Anointing and Friday Okoroafor, all lost their lives in the unfortunate incident.

    Members of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Creative Designers Guild of Nigeria (CDGN) in Enugu State and others marched on the streets of Enugu metropolis.

    A candle light procession was slated in honour of the fallen heroes and heroines.

    Their spokesperson, Jonas Onunweze, condemned the treatment given to artistes and other Nollywood crew members by film producers.

  • E-money pledges to take care of Júnior Pope’s children

    E-money pledges to take care of Júnior Pope’s children

    Nigerian businessman, Emeka Okonkwo, popularly known as E-money has pledged to take care of the three sons of late actor, Jnr Pope following his tragic demise in a boat accident.

    The actor lost his life in a boat accident on his way back from a movie production.

    E-money in an Instagram post promised to take care of Jnr Pope’s children, he also stated that he would make them his responsibility and treat them like his own sons.

    In his words; “It has been one week since you departed from this world, leaving behind a profound sense of loss that reverberates not only among us but also across Africa and beyond.

    Your presence, as both a friend and a brother, is deeply missed, JP.

    The weight of your absence bears heavily upon our hearts, yet we draw comfort from the belief that God will grant us the resilience to carry forward and uphold the legacy you’ve entrusted to us. We tenderly remember your final words on the boat, “NA ONLY ME DEM BORN I GET 3 CHILDREN NA ME GO RAISE THEM,” and we solemnly commit to honoring that vow.

    Your children now find solace in the embrace of the Okonkwo family, and we, as members of that family, pledge to nurture them as you would have wished.

    Your absence leaves a palpable void, JP, and your memory will forever be held dear. Rest peacefully, knowing that you are deeply cherished, and may God’s blessings encompass your soul, your family, and all who hold you in their hearts. 🙏”

  • Nollywood veteran actress dedicates birthday to late colleague Junior Pope

    Nollywood veteran actress dedicates birthday to late colleague Junior Pope

    Nollywood veteran actress, Rita Edochie dedicated her birthday celebration to her late junior colleague, John Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the late actor died with three of his colleagues while returning from a movie location in a boat when in Anambra on Wednesday.

    The renowned actress, who took to her Instagram page @ritaedochie, said that she had called off her intended birthday plans in honour of Junior Pope.

    According to her, she refused to celebrate her birthday today, but decided to dedicate it to her great son Junior Pope, whose death was below her belief.

    The veteran actress added that the late actor never missed her birthdays, he always calls, send messages and post her pictures online as well as more.

    The actress said she refused to believe that Junior Pope was gone, until the end of the day, when she does not receive a birthday wish from him.

    She added that no one’s death in Nollywood had made her this crazy, stressing that Junior Pope was too young to die.

    The actress assured that the memories they both shared would remain evergreen in her heart.

    “I refused to celebrate this day; I hereby dedicate it to my great son Junior Pope whose death incidence is below my belief.

    “Today the 16th of April, is my birthday but I chose not to celebrate it the way I had intended.

    “This son of mine does not miss my birthday every year, he posts my pictures, writes and calls me.”

    “I am actually expecting a phone call or a message from him or a post from his page with my pictures regarding my birthday today. “

    “If at the end of today,  I do not get any reaction from him, then it will dawn in me that Obumneme Nwam is no longer here. ”

    “No death in Nollywood has made me this crazy. Obumneme is just too young for this.

    Nollywood veteran actress dedicates birthday to late colleague Junior Pope

    Nollywood veteran actress Rita Edochie,  dedicated her birthday celebration to her late junior colleague, John Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the late actor died  with  three of his colleagues while returning from a movie location in a boat when  in Anambra on Wednesday.

    The renowned actress, who took to her Instagram page @ritaedochie, said  that she  had called off her intended birthday plans in honour of Junior Pope.

    According to her, she refused to celebrate her birthday today,  but decided to dedicate it to her  great son Junior Pope, whose death  was below her belief.

    The veteran actress added that the late actor never missed her birthdays , he  always call, send messages and post her pictures online as well as more.

    The actress  said she refused  to believe that Junior Pope was gone, until the end of the day,  when she does not receive a birthday wish from him.

    She added that no one’s death in Nollywood had made her this crazy, stressing that Junior Pope was too young to die.

    The actress assured that the memories they both shared would remain evergreen in her heart.

    “I refused to celebrate this day, I hereby dedicate it to my great son Junior Pope whose death incidence is below my belief.

    “Today the 16th of April, is my birthday but I chose not to celebrate it the way I had intended.

    “This son of mine does not miss my birthday every year, he posts my pictures, writes and calls me.”

    “I am actually expecting a phone call or a message from him or a post from his page with my pictures regarding my birthday today. “

    “If at the end of today,  I do not get any reaction from him, then it will dawn in me that Obumneme Nwam is no longer here. ”

    “No death in Nollywood has made me this crazy. Obumneme is just too young for this.

  • Actor Oloketuyi warns colleagues against sharing videos of their dead colleagues on social media.

    Actor Oloketuyi warns colleagues against sharing videos of their dead colleagues on social media.

    Seun Oloketuyi, the founder of the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards has issued a warning to his colleagues.

    He warned them against sharing videos of their dead colleagues on social media.

    He gave the advice following the sad passing of Junior Pope, a Nollywood actor, and several crew members on April 10.

    He wrote:

    “It is sad and still very hard to refer to Jnr Pope and others who lost their life in the ill-fated boat ride as deceased. Jnr Pope was full of life and hardworking, as I’m sure were those who died with him,” the statement reads.

    “I think AGN and AMP need to be proactive and ask serious, salient questions going forward.

    “Do Nollywood productions, especially those with high-level risks like shooting late at night, have standard safety procedures?

    “Can we organise crash programmes of safety procedures when incidents like these take place so that people know what to do? Can the guilds have safety experts in its executives to advise accordingly?

    “Finally, it is time our actors learn to use social media. Accidents happen everywhere but you won’t see a lawyer do a live video of such events or post pictures of their colleagues’ corpses.

    “It is becoming crazy. In fact, it looked like some were more engrossed in making live videos than helping. RIP to the dead practitioners.”

  • Angela Okorie reveals why Zubby Michael won’t mourn Junior Pope

    Angela Okorie reveals why Zubby Michael won’t mourn Junior Pope

    Popular Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie has reacted after social media users dragged her colleague, Zubby Michaels for not mourning Jnr Pope.

    She weighed in on the controversy trailing Zubby Michael, revealing why he cannot dare to publicly mourn the loss of his senior colleague.

    Addressing the outrage, Angela Okorie alleged that the actor has always competed with others in the industry, sabotaging relationships in his quest to be the best.

    She added that Zubby Michael was never close to or even on the same level as the late actor but never respected the hierarchy in the movie industry.

    She made this known in the comment section of a blog post, stating;

    “Dem no born am well to post Junior pop, he knows why he is running, nollywood knows his story with Junior pop, Nigga be fighting every1 cos he wanna be number 1 of nollywood, mind you Junior pop na zubby Oga,” she wrote.

     

  • What I know about Junior Pope’s death – Movie producer, Adanma Luke

    What I know about Junior Pope’s death – Movie producer, Adanma Luke

    Adanma Luke, the producer of the movie late actor Junior Pope was filming before he got involved in boat mishap and died has opened up on what she knows about the death of the actor.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Adanma to have said Junior Pope was given a life jacket to go on the boat ride with but that the actor rejected it.

    The movie producer has been under heavy criticism following the death of the actor and three others after their boat capsized on the Anam River in Anambra State while returning from the location of her movie, ‘The Other Side Of Life.’

    The movie producer spoke for the first time after the boat mishap, saying that  Junior Pope was provided with a life jacket but rejected it because it was dirty.

    Speaking in a video message shared via her Instagram account, she said: “My director was on life jacket, Emeka the DOP was also on life jacket. There was still one life jacket available, I don’t know who took it.

    “My producer manager said they saw life jackets hanging and they took them. He said he even asked the late Friday to take one to Junior Pope but Junior Pope said it was dirty so he didn’t take it.

    “Those with life jackets survived the boat mishap. And they also told me that when they were in the water trying to survive, Junior Pope was also there asking, ‘Is everybody okay? Hope everybody is fine?’ They said they even threw a gallon to him to use and hold himself which he was holding but all of a sudden they didn’t see him again.

    “It was when they came out that they noticed that he was no longer there. They said divers came and resuced some of them while other divers were still there trying to rescue others.

    “I said what could have caused this accident? They said they don’t know but TC was standing on the speed boat rigging bell.”

    Video;

  • Video: Movie producer, Adanmu Luke breaks silence, says it feels like a dream

    Video: Movie producer, Adanmu Luke breaks silence, says it feels like a dream

    In a video she shared on her Instagram account, movie producer Adanmu Luke revealed that the boat accident that took the lives of Junior Pope and other crew members still feels like a dream to her.

    She added that she has been traumatised and has not been able to make any statements because they’ve been trying to recover the body.

    She said in parts: “I’ve been so traumatised, this whole thing still feels like a dream to me. I just wish I could wake up from this dream. I’ve not been able to make any statement because we’ve been trying to recover the body. It is so sad that this had to happen on my set. I blame myself for coming down to Asaba.”

    Adanma also said she was supposed to be on the boat with the crew, but when she got there, Emeka informed her of the boat accident.

    Captioning the video, Adanma pointed out that the life jacket was free. In the video, she claimed that those who wore life jackets survived, but her production manager said Junior Pope rejected his life jacket because it was dirty.

    “Why me Life jacket was free,” she wrote.

    Recall that Junior Pope was confirmed dead on Wednesday night after several attempts to resuscitate him failed. The actor, alongside other crew members, drowned in the River Niger area on their way back from the set of a movie produced by Adanma Luke.

    See Video below:

  • Junior Pope: Ini Edo calls for regulatory structure in Nollywood

    Junior Pope: Ini Edo calls for regulatory structure in Nollywood

    Nollywood actress and film producer, Ini Edo has called for a fundamental change in Nollywood.

    She made this call following the tragic death of Nigerian actor Junior Pope and other film crew,

    Ini Edo expressed her grief and frustration over the lack of a proper regulatory structure to ensure the safety of everyone involved in film production.

    She called for the need of a regulatory structure for the safeguarding of film production.

    “Jr Pope did not have to sacrifice his life for Nollywood to realise the need for a long and much-needed regulatory structure that would safeguard an entire production.”

    She emphasised that while many individuals now take on the role of producers in Nollywood, there is a collective negligence that must be addressed urgently.

    “Everyone is a producer now and all are guilty of negligence of some sort.. and this has to stop,” Edo continued.

    She stressed that the death of her colleague shouldn’t have occurred in the first instance, stating, “This is one sacrifice too many and must count for something.”

    The actress called for a total overhaul of the system, advocating for practical rules and regulations that cater to everyone involved in film production, especially in cases of emergencies. She expressed her confusion and sorrow over the loss of talented individuals in the industry, saying, “I will never understand why the good ones go so soon.”

  • Junior Pope: Producer Adanma Luke submits self to police after boat mishap

    Junior Pope: Producer Adanma Luke submits self to police after boat mishap

    Adanma Luke, the producer of the upcoming movie in which the late actor Junior Pope was supposed to be featured, has surrendered to the police.

    Pope, the actor, died on Wednesday after he fell into the River Niger in Asaba, Delta state on his way to a movie location.

    The film star was in the company of some other actors and crew members when the incident occurred.

    On Friday, Tochukwu Ikenga, the Anambra police spokesperson, told TheCable Lifestyle, that Luke was not arrested but submitted herself to the law enforcement agency.

    Ikenga added that the two boat drivers were also in custody amid an investigation into Pope’s death.

    “She was not arrested, she came by herself, and her statement was obtained. We also have in custody the two boat drivers and interrogation is still ongoing,” he said.

    “Early this morning, we have recovered the other three missing bodies. Further details shall be communicated please.”

    The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) earlier suspended all movies involving riverine locations, following the death of Pope.

    Emeka Rollas, the president of the AGN, also warned filmmakers not to work with Luke “until further notice”.

    Tochukwu Okafor, the actor fondly called TC Virus who is a survivor of the boat accident, recently opened up about how he escaped the mishap that claimed the life of Pope.

  • Police start investigation into Jnr Pope’s death in River Niger

    Police start investigation into Jnr Pope’s death in River Niger

    The Police in Anambra state said it has begun an investigation into the boat accident that claimed the life of actor Junior Pope on the River Niger on Wednesday afternoon.

    Police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga, who conveyed the condolences of the Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye to the families of those who lost their lives, further expressed deep regrets over the incident.

    He added that the command did its best to ensure the rescue of actors when the incident was brought to her knowledge.

    Ikenga stated that the boat was one of two that conveyed the crew to a film location in Anambra West LGA of Anambra State and was returning to Asaba, where it took off from when the accident happened.

    “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,” Ikenga said.

    “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 and 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 added that although the accident happened within the jurisdiction of Anambra State Command, issues relating to release of bodies of the accident victims for a decent burial are to be handled by Delta State Police Command.

    He conveyed the condolences of the Commissioner of Police, Adeoye to the family, friends and fans of the actors who died as a result of the boat mishap and prayed Almighty God to grant their souls a sweet repose.

    Ikenga said preliminary enquiry has given insight into the cause of the accident, adding that exhaustive investigation has been ordered by the Commissioner of Police with a view to determining criminal liability of any person in the mishap.

    Shock trailed the death of the actors including Obumneme Odonwodo popularly called Junior Pope, as the boat they were travelling in capsized on the River Niger.

    Junior Pope began his acting career in 2006 and has acted in more than 150 Nollywood movies including Bachelor Eve, Vengeance of Bullet, Bitter Generation, The Generals, Wrong Initiation, The Cat, Nkwocha, Secret Adventure, among others.

    He tied the knot with his wife, Jennifer Awele in 2014 and their marriage is blessed with three children.

    Likewise, the Force PRO, Muyiwa Adejobi said, “We extend our deepest condolences to the Actors Guild of Nigeria and all who knew and cherished John Paul Odonwodo, fondly called Junior Pope, as well as the other actors whose lives were tragically shortened in the recent boat mishap on the River Niger. The loss of these talents is a profound tragedy in the entertainment industry and the country at large. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time”.

    “As investigations into the cause of the accident continue, we join in mourning the lives cut short and pray for the peaceful repose of their souls”.