Nigeria is mourning the reported demise of actor Obumneme Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.
The actor is reported to have died in a boat accident at the age of 39 on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
The incident, according to reports by many Nigerian news websites, occurred while Junior Pope was returning from a movie shoot along the Anam River in Anambra State.
Three other people are also reported to have died when their boat overturned.
Just a day before the accident, Pope shared a video on Instagram showing him on a boat, crossing a river without a life jacket. He captioned the post, "The risk we take to entertain you; crossing River 9ja yesterday with no life jacket," highlighting the dangers actors sometimes face in their line of work.
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.
Watch the last video Pope uploaded below.
Nollywood Actor, Junior Pope drown, dıes after his boat capsized in a river while shootıng a movie.
— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) April 10, 2024
His last post on Instagram was a video of himself on a boat. He wrote as the caption of the post: "The risk we take to entertain you ; crossing river 9ja yesterday with no life… pic.twitter.com/q3eDRYZ7l4
ID/ ADG
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