By Pamela Eboh
Details have emerged of how Nollywood actor, Jnr Pope met his death in the course of duty alongside five of his colleagues.
Narrating the story, a Nollywood actor known as TC Okafor who was in the same boat with Jnr Pope said that as they were going down the slope to enter the boat, Jnr. Pope told them to wait that he had paid someone to get him beer but after a while, when the person didn’t show up, he decided to join them in the boat.
He said, “After JP entered the boat and sat down, we saw one person come with a black bowl containing one hero and tiger beer, he collected, gave one to the DOP and took one and they started drinking.
“”Since we started this production, I made it a habit to always sit in front, I don’t like sitting in the middle because I don see where boat capsize. I will seat in the front and hold on to a rope that they use to tie the boat on shore. But before we entered the boat, I took the fanta I bought and poured some inside the river and asked water people to accept it and nor allow anything happen to me.
“When I poured the fanta JP asked me what I was doing and I told him I’m giving it to the people so they won’t allow any harm befall me. He said ok, that it’s good.
“As we were moving, JP was making video and the boat captain who was wearing ear piece was making frantic effort to appear in the video. In that move,he lost sight of his direction and was on close collision with a boat used for fishing. I called his attention to that but because he lacked experience in boat maneuver, he hit the edge of the fishing boat and immediately our boat capsized,
“I don’t know how I managed to come out safe with some of the crew members but all I know is that I held unto that rope while the girl that was sitting close to me held unto me. I have never swam in a swimming pool but I survived, even with the girl clinging unto me only God knows how I survived and I’m grateful.”
He said that they were rescued from the water by another oncoming boat that sited them from afar.
According to him, it was only the director and the DOP that was on life jacket out of the twelve crew members on board the board.
Okafor said that he and his colleague, Shawn Israel were the ones that went to report the matter at the Marine Police station and on getting there, the police rebuked them for always refusing to come to them to borrow life jackets and even take them along with drivers to avoid such a scenario.
“The Marine Police abused us saying that we are too stingy, hence we cannot bring out money to hire life jackets”, he added.
The actor however said that at this point, he is no longer an actor, saying that he has survived many near death situation in nollywood.
His words, “I know how many times I don suffer because of Nollywood, I know how many times I have had accident, I know how many times I have been poisoned. How much una dey me sef. Una no fit kill me. My head is too strong. Right now, I am no longer a Nollywood actor, I want to focus on my Comedy. If you like me, and want to support anything I am doing, come to my Facebook. I don’t care, everybody should hold their script and let me be. I’m the only child of my mother, I don’t have brother nor sister. He hissed and ended the video
Meanwhile, a Nollywood producer l, Stanley in a video chat with few of his colleagues said that Junior was revived when they took him to the traditionalist they were directed to.
He said that after performing some rituals, the traditionalist clean him with a chick, then lit a fire, facing him to the fire so the smoke will make him sneeze but Junior Pope only managed to move his hand and that point, the man instructed them to take him to the hospital so they administer drip on him.
“It was when he moved his hand that people started shouting that he is alive. We took him to two good hospitals the first one had oxygen but didn’t have body shocker which hospitals use to pressure someone on the edge of dying. The second had every equipment you can think of, they put Pope in a machine that reads everything in the body, at that point, the brain was flat and not reading anymore before they declared him dead.
He however slammed whoever that called his wife to the scene.
“Imagine Pope’s wife and mother inlaw were there when they were bringing him out from the water, it’s wrong.”, the producer stated
Information has it that three persons who are part of the crew are still stuck in the water at the time of filing this report.
