Nollywood star Pope Obumneme Odonwodo, also referred to as Junior Pope, died in a horrific boat accident. T.C. Okafor, one of the survivors, has described the events leading up to the catastrophe.
He said in the viral video that the guy operating the boat was inexperienced, which is what caused the accident.
He said that even though everyone was on board, some people were not wearing life jackets and some were. He threw some crumbs from his snack and several naira bills into the river while travelling, as well as spilling Fanta into the water.
Okafor remembered clearly Junior Pope’s perplexed question about what he was doing, to which he replied that he was worshipping the river gods and pleading for safe passage, hence his unconventional rituals.
Speaking during an Instagram Live session, TC said: “Before I entered the boat, the first thing Junior Pope asked me was ‘What I’m I doing?’ And I said I was observing the water people. I can’t pass without sharing something. I have given them Fanta, so I don’t want anything bad to happen to me. Junior Pope agreed.
“While we were going, the boat guy was wearing an earpiece, and Junior Pope was doing a video, I saw a small canoe with fishermen in front and due to his lack of experience, he drove right into the last point of the canoe and we somersaulted.”
On their way back from a filming site, four actors—among them Junior Pope—died when their canoe overturned on the Anam River in Anambra State.
On Thursday, Junior Pope’s death was verified by Actors Guild of Nigeria President Emeka Rollas, who also revealed that three more bodies had not yet been located.
