Junior Pope Not Buried By River Bank, Police Clarify

The remains of Nollywood star, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly called Junior Pope, were not among those buried by the bank of the Anam River, the Anambra State Police Command clarified on Sunday.

Recall that Junior Pope and four other crew members of a speed boat died after the boat capsized on April 10, 2024. There were media reports that the deceased were buried by the bank of the river in line with the tradition of the natives of the riverine area.

The clarification was made by spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Ikenga Tochukwu. He stated that only three of the deceased families agreed that the victims be buried by the riverside.

He further explained that after the burial of the three, one of the families came back to exhume the remains of their daughter for a befitting burial in her country home. Ikenga added that the corpse of Junior Pope was deposited at a morgue.

In his words, “The command, on an inquiry about the unconfirmed information that the recovered bodies including Junior Pope were buried by the Riverside where the boat accident happened, discovered that three of the deceased families accepted the victims should be buried beside the river.

“But later, the family of one of the victims decided to exhume the body to be given a proper burial in her state while the other two were still buried there.

“Also, Junoir Pope and one other are still in the morgue and await the deceased families’ funeral arrangements.”

The police spokesman also stated that the command was still investigating the unfortunate incident.

He said, “The producer of the movie and the two boat drivers’ statements have been obtained, and other necessary actions/moves already emplaced by the operatives as directed by the Commissioner of Police to determine the criminal liability of any person, if any, in the mishap.”