Saturday, August 1, 2026

Nollywood stars mourn Junior Pope

Some Nollywood stars have continued to mourn the death of Nollywood actor John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope.

• April 11, 2024
Nollywood actor John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope.
Nollywood actor John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope.

Some Nollywood stars have continued to mourn the death of Nollywood actor John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope.

The actor died with three of his colleagues while returning from a movie location in a boat when they fell into Anam River in Anambra on Wednesday.

His colleagues took to their social media platforms to mourn Junior Pope, who was finally pronounced dead on Wednesday at age 39.

Actress Yvonne Jegede wrote, “I had imagined we would have a thanksgiving service. I was hoping we would flood Asaba to thank God for a second chance, but God knows best.

“This is bad for Nollywood. Please, we should endeavour to implement safety measures on set. I know some production companies do their best to have nurses and health professionals on set.

“But some with small budgets should please consider this and everyone on set, not just actors. The boat itself isn’t good enough to go the distance. Please, while we keep Jnr Pope and family in our prayers, let’s also remember others who died too.”

She added, “Any information on the others? We need to honor our own. I’m so broken. This is a nightmare. @qutejay I pray for strength for you and the entire family right now.”

Actress Rita Edochie said, “At last, after he fought to stay alive, he is gone. Just when I felt a renewed hope running down my spine. The will of God can never be countered.

“It’s still very hard to type R.I.P., so I am not saying anything to you because it’s really a dream.

“It is well. God Almighty, we cannot question you. Chai, what a black Wednesday evening.”

Filmmaker Samuel Olatunji wrote, “Junior Pope is gone finally. What a sad end. May God console his family.”

The national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, confirmed the death of a Nollywood actor on his Instagram page on Thursday.

Rollas 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. Mr Friday’s corpse has been identified, but three other corpses are yet to be found.”

(NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

African Action Congress AAC

States

Osun Poll: AAC condemns debate boycott by APC, Accord, ADC candidates 

Mr Esan said the refusal showed the candidates’ unwillingness to subject themselves to public scrutiny.

Uba Sani of Kaduna State (Credit: Twitter)

States

Insecurity: Kaduna govt graduates 1,101 forest guards 

Mr Sani said the armed forest guards would complement the armed forces and other security agencies in tackling evolving security threats.

Released Oyo hostages

States

Oyo Abduction: Judicial commission seeks public memoranda

The commission urged anyone with relevant information to submit written memoranda on or before August 14 to aid its investigation.

Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC)

Politics

Osun IPAC rejects caretaker committee, demands fresh election

Members of the council said the IPAC national body constituted a caretaker committee without consulting stakeholders.

Stephen Grzyb

World

Police launch manhunt as prisoner escapes from van outside court

The van arrived at about 10:00 a.m at the court premises. 

Isaac Okoh

Sport

Commonwealth Games: Isaac Okoh wins gold in men’s 90kg boxing event

Okoh defeated Wales’ Connor Willmas by unanimous decision in the final.