By Raymond Ozoji, Awka
Reactions have continued to trail the tragic death of superstar actor, JohnPaul Obumneme Odowondo famously called Junior Pope, whose avoidable demise occurred on Wednesday 10th April, while returning from a remote movie location in a speed boat along the coast of the River Niger.
A viral video made by the late actor himself while on board that fateful day had him cautioning the boat captain to reduce the speed and concentrate to avoid any mishaps, that he has three children (3 boys) to take care of and watch them grow into adulthood in his lifetime.
Junior Pope in the video also pointed out that he was crossing the River Niger in a boat without life jacket on and that the world could see the kind of risk they took just to entertain them. Not too long after he made the video, the recalcitrant boat captain collided with a fisherman’s boat and all passengers on board were drowned as the boat capsized.
However, reports had it that Tochukwu Okafor, another upcoming star actor who was one of the victims of the boat mishap said he narrowly escaped death because none of the actors or crew members had lifejackets on except the producer and director.
Although recent reports have it that Emeka Rollas the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has banned movie productions in coastal areas after confirming the death of Junior Pope; there was need for the Anambra State Police Command to arrest and interrogate the Producer and Executive Producer over the lack of lifejackets by their artistes and crew as confirmed by the late Junior Pope and TC Okafor, who narrowly escaped death during the catastrophic boat accident.
Furthermore, the remains of the late actor have also sparked off series of controversies as social media stories reveal that Anam community in Anambra-West is demanding that the body of Junior Pope be buried inside the Anam River where he died or the family of the deceased pay the community N40 million to bury him in his Ukehe country home in Enugu State.
Reports say the reason Anam community is insisting that Junior Pope must be buried inside the Anam River was because he died in the River and his body belongs to the goddess of the River. That anything on the contrary would amount to dire spiritual consequences.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Police Command has commiserated with the families of the victims of the catastrophic boat mishap.
A statement from the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga read, “The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, CP Aderemi Adeoye, has extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of actors who lost their lives as a result of a boat accident which occured on the River Niger in the afternoon of Wednesday, 10th April, 2024.
“The boat, one of two that conveyed the crew to a film location in Anambra West LGA of Anambra State, 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.
“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 said.
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.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye commiserated with family, friends and fans of the actors who died as a result of the boat mishap. He prayed to the Almighty God to grant their souls a sweet repose.
“Preliminary enquiry has given insight into the cause of the accident. Exhaustive investigation has been ordered by the Commissioner of Police with a view to determining criminal liability of any person, if any, in the mishap,” the statement said.