…AGN Mourns Him
By Jude Atupulazi
Nigerians were Wednesday night thrown into mourning as news of the death by drowning of popular Nollywood star, John Paul Odonwodo, a.k.a. Junior Pope, broke on the social media.
The late actor was said to have been on a boat in Anambra River shooting for a movie titled, ”The other side of life”. It was while he was returning with three other of his colleagues that their boat capsized. The movie was said to be produced by Adamma.
The death of Junior Pope is the latest in a string of tragedies that have befallen Nollywood this year, with three thespians, Mr. Ibu, Amaechi Muonagor and Sisi Quadri passing on within the last two months.
In January it was Deji Aderemi, popularly known as Olofa Ina. In February it was Ethel Ekpe who was well known for playing the role of ‘Segi’ on the Nigerian Television Authority sitcom, ”Basi and Company”.
Junior Pope’s death was however not without some bit of drama as he was said to have been revived following resuscitation. This triggered happy scenes among the crowd there as was seen on social media. They were seen shouting and praising God for his revival.
Even the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, had confirmed that Jnr Pope Odonwodo had been resuscitated and was receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital. He had said: ‘It is a miracle. He spent over two hours inside the water.’
The AGN President also confirmed that the actor was alive on his social media.
He wrote: ‘What God cannot do does not exist. Junior Pope is alive. He is taking treatment in the hospital.’
But shortly after another round of news filtered in that Junior Pope later gave up the ghost at a hospital.
Filmmaker Sam Olatunji earlier confirmed the actor’s death on his Instagram page. Also, The Delta State Chairperson of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emma Onyemeziem, said that Junior Pope’s remains had been deposited in the morgue.
The 39-year-old actor had earlier shared a video of him and four others on his Instagram page travelling to the movie location on a boat.
He wrote in his caption, ‘See me lamenting. The risk we take to entertain you: crossing river 9ja yesterday with no life jacket… Na waooooo… Who does that ?’
The actor could also be heard in the last video he posted while on the boat, saying, ‘Na only me them born, I get three children, abi you go raise them?’
Alongside three other actors, Junior Pope’s motionless body was later recovered after the accident, which occurred during the journey back from a movie location, on Wednesday, April 10, along the Anam River in Anambra State.
The Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, has expressed sorrow over the death of John Paul Odonwodo.
The National President of AGN, Emeka Rollas, confirmed the news of Junior Pope’s passing in an Instagram post on Thursday.
Rollas wrote, ‘It is so sad that our joy was short-lived. My first post was out of excitement when we noticed his tingling fingers. Two notable hospitals tried their best to revive him but to no avail. God knows best. We finally lost him. Mr. Friday’s corpse has been identified but three other corpses are yet to be found.’
Junior Pope joined the Nollywood industry in 2006 and quickly made a name for himself, often playing roles such as bodyguard, palace attendant, and servant in his early years. He rose to prominence in 2007 with his performance in the movie, “Secret Adventures”, directed by Tchidi Chikere.
Throughout his career, Junior Pope appeared in over 150 Nollywood films, including titles such as “Mad Sex”, “Bitter Generation”, “Vengeance of Bullet”, “The Cat”, “The Generals”, and “Wrong Initiation”.
In 2010, Junior Pope was awarded Nollywood’s Most Promising Actor at the Entertainment Factory Awards. He also won accolades such as Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards and Best Actor of the Year at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
His death by drowning without protective gear is bound to raise a lot of questions regarding boat travel.
