The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has finally confirmed the death of Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.
It was reported on Wednesday that the actor, alongside three others, tragically passed away after their boat capsized in the Anam River in Anambra state while returning home from locations.
However, in a now-deleted post late Wednesday, the National President of the Action Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, revealed that the actor was still alive and not dead.
It was reported that the actor was still alive and had been taken to the Water Shrine for some cleansing after which he was taken to the hospital, where he eventually gave up after hours of battling for his life.
But in a new turn of events on Thursday, the AGN President finally confirmed the death of the actor and apologized for his earlier post suggesting that he was still alive.
According to him, his now-deleted post was a result of excitement after noticing tingling in the actor’s fingers.
Confirming the death earlier on Thursday via his official Instagram account, Emeka Rollas said two reputable hospitals did everything within their capacity to revive the actor’s life to no avail.
He also revealed that while the body of Junior Pope has been recovered, that of three other actors who also lost their lives in the incident is still missing.
He wrote, “It’s so 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. Mr Friday’s corpse has been identified but three other corpses are yet to be found.”
Taking to their Instagram pages, the likes of Lizzy Gold, Regina Chukwu, Susan Peters, Foluke Daramola, Mofe Duncan, Mike Ezurounye, Uche Ogbodo, Yvonne Jegede, Doris Ogala and more mourned him.
Following his untimely demise, his family members and the community where he died are currently battling for his body. According to reports, some people in the community are insisting that the actor must be buried in the river because they believe it is necessary for his children and the community’s well-being.
His family, on his part, didn’t agree and wouldn’t give up his body. It’s also learned that another group of people is saying the family should take the body to a specific shrine, where a certain herbalist in charge of the river will supposedly bring him back to life. Emeka Rollas, the AGN president, and some Nollywood actors are currently pushing for his body to be taken to the shrine.
