Nollywood actor, Junior Pope, confirmed dead
Etim Ekpimah
Emeka Rollas, National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, has confirmed the death of Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, aka, Junior Pope.
After news of the boat mishap on which the actor and three of his colleagues were, news filtered all over all social, print, and electronic media that the actor together with other of his colleagues drowned when the boat collided with another in the Anam River, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
After some hours, there was a wild celebration in Asaba, Delta State capital that Odonwodo was alive.
Rollas, who took to his Instagram page on Thursday morning, disclosed that the actor and his colleagues were dead. He wrote: “It is 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. We finally lost him,” he said.
The actor was born on 7th May 1984 in Bamenda, Northwest Cameroun to Mr and Mrs Luke Odonwodo.
He hailed from Ukehe tribe of Enugu State in the southeastern part of Nigeria.
But he grew up in Cameroun, where he completed his primary and secondary school education before relocating to Nigeria.
Junior Pope had his tertiary education at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State and graduated with a degree in accounting.
In 2006 he joined the Nollywood industry and acted in many movies. He used to play the role of guard and servant.
In 2007 he rose to fame after acting in the blockbuster movie “Secret Adventures” directed by Tchidi Chikere. The award-winning movie director “Tchidi Chikere” brought him to the limelight.
He acted in over 100 movies, including Secret Adventures, Mad Sex, Bitter Generation, Vengeance of Bullet, and more. In 2010 he won the award for Nollywood Most Promising Actor in Nigeria at the Entertainment Factory Awards.
On 26th July 2014 Junior Pope married Jennifer Awele Okpuno and the couple are blessed with beautiful kids.
He won several movie awards such as Most Promising Actor in Nigeria at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
Following Junior Pope’s death, AGN president, Rollas banned all films that involve riverine areas and boating riding.
He said: “No shoot on all locations nationwide on Thursday, 11 April 2024. The film titled, “Another Side of Life,” is suspended indefinitely.”
He added: “No actor is allowed to work with Adanmo Luke as a producer till further notice.”
