‘Junior Pope Refused Life Jacket Because It Was Dirty’— Movie Producer Adanma Luke Breaks Silence After Boat Mishap

Nollywood actress and producer of the movie “The Other Side of Life” Adanma Luke, has broken her silence after the tragic incident that claimed the lives of Junior Pope and four other crew members.

Luke, the producer of the movie in which Junior Pope was starring before his death, said he refused a life jacket because it was dirty.

Recall Junior Pope, real name Obumneme Odonwodo alongside four others drowned when their boat capsized while returning from a movie location on the River Niger.

In a series of videos shared on her Instagram page on Saturday, Luke revealed that she was meant to be on the ill-fated boat, but a twist of fate spared her.

Explaining what happened, she said, “On the 10th of April, we lost five of our members who were on their way to a location through boat and had an accident.
“I’ve been so traumatized. I’ve been so cold, this whole thing, it still feels like a dream to me.

“I’ve not been able to make any statements since, because we’ve been trying to recover the bodies. I’ve been providing fuel money to those looking for bodies, provided caskets, ambulance to make sure the bodies were conveyed to their villages and families.

“I’ve not been quiet; I’ve been doing things just so these people can rest. It’s so sad that this happened on my set.”

She expressed remorse, and blamed herself for choosing to shoot the movie in Asaba, Delta State, instead of Lagos.

“I blame myself that I would have been in Lagos, doing my thing in Lagos. I blame myself for coming down to Asaba,” she noted

Luke went on to say, “I was supposed to be on that boat; my production manager was calling me to bring the memory card so they could start filming, and I told him to come and collect it.

“He said, ‘Mama, you know this place is far; please just bring it for us.’

“I said, ‘Okay, why haven’t you people crossed?’ He said they were waiting for Junior Pope to arrive.

“On the 9th, they went there on their own, Junior Pope came on his own. He came alone.”

She continued “So, on this 10th, while I was getting ready to go drop the card with them, I was accompanied by my brother’s children, two kids that were supposed to go with me. We were supposed to be on that boat together.

“Getting there, I saw Emeka, my D.O.P.  He was just sitting. I was surprised because I didn’t see others. I asked Emeka, “What is it?” And people surrounded him, Emeka was quiet.

“I said,  ‘Emeka, talk to me. What is the problem? Why haven’t you people gone? Where is Ogolo? Where is everybody? Has JP come?’ He was quiet.

“I started shouting, ‘What is happening? Somebody talk to me.’ Emeka now said, ‘JP don go, Abigail don go, Friday don go, Precious don go.’

“I still didn’t understand what he meant by that. ‘What do you mean, don go, don go where?’ He said, ‘dem dey inside water.’

“I said, let me go and look for them. They started holding me that I should not go. I said, ‘Let me be there. Let me be sure the divers are looking for them.’ They said there were over 50 divers in the water looking for them.”

THE WHISTLER reported that the Actors Guild of Nigeria reacted to the incident by banning actors from participating in any film produced by Luke until further notice