Following the alleged death of actor Obumneme Odonwodo, also known as Junior Pope, Nigeria is in sorrow.
On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, the actor is said to have passed away in a boat accident at the age of 39.
Many Nigerian news websites said that Junior Pope was returning from a movie shoot along the Anam River in Anambra State when the incident happened.
When their boat capsized, three more persons are said to have perished.
Pope posted a video of himself on a boat, not wearing a life jacket, across a river on Instagram the day before the disaster. He highlighted the risks performers occasionally encounter in their line of work by captioning the photo, “The risk we take to entertain you; crossing River 9ja yesterday with no life jacket.”
His body was recovered following rescue efforts, while the identities of the three other victims are yet to be made known.
Fans and colleagues have since taken to social media to mourn the loss of the actor.
Conflicting reports indicate actor may have survived accident
Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports on social media indicating that the actor may have survived the accident.
The President of the Nigerian Actors Guild, Emeka Rollas, is reported to have made an Instagram post where he stated that the actor is alive and responding to treatment at a hospital.
But reports say he later deleted the said post.
