Junior Pope’s death shatters Nollywood, drama rages on

The peace in Nollywood, and by extension, a large part of the country, was shattered on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, when a popular actor, Pope Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope, and three others were confirmed dead when the boat they were travelling in after returning from a movie set capsized in Asaba, Delta State.

A trip of no return

Doing what he knows how to do best, the actor was working on a movie titled, ‘The Other Side of Life’, which is produced by Adanma Luke. Apparently to get to the set, the cast and crew had to cross the River Niger.

While going to the set, Pope had made video

while on the boat, asking the driver to move with caution. In the video, the actor pleaded that he was an only child, and that he had three young children, who he wanted to raise himself. This was even as he told his fans that actors often took risks in their bid to entertain them.

He had said, “Please, reduce the speed. I am the only child of my parents. I have three children that I need to raise.”

However, upon returning from the same movie set, that which Pope feared actually happened, as it turned out to be his last trip ever. He and three other members of the film crew lost their lives when the boat capsized.

Confusion as actor was rumoured to still be alive

Shortly after the news of his death initially went viral, hopes were raised when news also circulated that Pope had regained consciousness.

In an Instagram post, Emeka Rollas, who is the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, had written, “What God cannot do does not exist. Junior Pope is alive. He is taking (sic) treatment in the hospital.”

According to rumours that spread like wildfire online, a mortuary attendant was said to have brought the actor to the morgue that he was still alive. Another actor who was at the scene, Stanley, later made a video, stating that Pope was being taken to the waterside for some rituals to be conducted for him to come back to life.

However, as anxiety continued to rise, Rollas deleted his earlier post, plunging the actor’s fans and Nigerians into further confusion as regards the actor’s condition.

Some hours later, it was finally revealed that Pope had died. Rollas stated that his earlier announcement that Pope was alive was out of excitement, when they noticed the tingling of his fingers.

He 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 the best. We finally lost him.”