Nollywood star Junior Pope dies on filming boat accident

BBC - ABUJA | Nollywood actor Junior Pope Odonwodo, popularly known as Jnr Pope has died in a boat accident while traveling to film a movie in Nigeria's Delta state, his fellow actors have said.

The film star was earlier reported to have survived the accident when doctors attempted to resuscitate him in a hospital.

"It's so so sad that our joy was short lived. Two notable hospitals tried their best to revive him but to no avail. We finally lost him," Emeka Rollas Ejezie, the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), posted on Facebook.

Videos shared on social media showed rescuers carrying the actor, who appeared unconscious, out of River Niger where the incident happened late Wednesday.

Hours before the accident, the 39-year-old actor had shared a video of him and four others on his Instagram page travelling to the movie location on a boat.

He was heard expressing concerns about the lack of safety measures and praying for a safe journey.

Junior Pope has acted in more than 150 Nollywood movies and is best known for playing roles of a criminal, villain, a bodyguard and a hitman.

Fellow actors have taken to social media to mourn him.

Nollywood is still reeling from the loss of two other industry stars, John Okafor, better known as Mr Ibu and Amaechi Muonagor.