Following the murder of actor Junior Pope Odonwodo, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) banned movie shooting in riverine areas and suspended filmmaker Adanma Luke.
Junior Pope was one of those who perished while returning from a shoot for Adanma’s film “Another Side of Life”. Their boat capsized near Cable Point on the River Niger in Asaba, Delta State.
While there were initial reports that Junior Pope had been resuscitate, the AGN stated that the actor had died, necessitating the suspension of filming in riverine areas and boat rides.
“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 10 April 2024 on a movie set titled ‘The other side of Life’ produced by Adanma Luke,” the AGN president Emeka Rollas said in a statement on Thursday.
“The leadership of the Guild has taken the following decisions: (1) All films that involve riverine areas and boat riding are at this moment suspended indefinitely, (2) no shoot on all locations Nationwide on Thursday, 11 April 2024.
“(3)The film titled ‘Another Side of Life’ is suspended indefinitely (4) No actor is allowed to work with Adamma Luke as a producer till further notice. (5) While we keep searching for the bodies of the remaining persons, may their souls rest in peace.”
The move comes after the AGN president confirmed Junior Pope’s death and later stated that the actor was alive. However, hours later, he erased the post from his Instagram account and replaced it with another in which he confirmed the actor’s death.
“It’s so so sad that our joy was shortlived. 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,” he said.
“We finally lost him. Mr Friday’s corpse has been identified but three other corpses are yet to be found.”
