According to an investigation, the late Nollywood actor Jnr Pope was never given a life jacket, despite viral reports that he was given one and rejected it while boarding the ill-fated boat that capsized, killing him and four other passengers on April 10 at the Anam River in Anambra State.
Prince Uvo Kevin Oghogho, Chairman of the committee established by the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, to investigate the remote and immediate cause of the boat accident, has cleared the air, refuting reports that the boat operators provided the late actor with a life jacket. According to him, the late actor received no life jacket.
Only two persons on board, the Director of Photography and the Sound Engineer, were wearing life jackets, which he claimed they had rented from the boat operators. “As soon as the tragedy happened, the boat operators immediately brought in fresh life jackets. He stated that they had always refused to provide passengers with life jackets.
Oghogho, who also serves as the AGN National Taskforce Chairman, made this stunning revelation in an interview with our reporter shortly after submitting his committee’s findings to the guild’s National Executive Council in Lagos recently. The report was issued three months after the April 10 tragedy at the Anam River.
Kevin described how the boat disaster occurred: “the outboard engine fibre boat hauling the actors and crew of the movie, created by Adamma. Luke left Asaba jetty with Ononno jetty as a destination. According to the witnesses, as they began their journey at around 12.30 p.m., Jnr Pope was filming a video while his colleagues on board were having fun with him.
“The boat driver’s attention was pulled to the incident as he looked back to grab a peek of the action while travelling at high speeds. He eventually collided with a crossing native fishing canoe, causing the speedboat to capsize and dump all of its occupants into the Anam River.
“Five passengers died on the spot, and seven were rescued alive,” Oghogho said. He also denied that Jnr Pope was killed and thrown into the river, despite the blood streaming out of his nostril. The actor maintained that Jnr.Pope was not the only one who was bleeding from the nose; another victim also did.
Oghogho went on to say that the doctor attached to the maritime police who assisted in the recovery of Jnr Pope’s and one Friday’s bodies did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the scene and confirmed their deaths before their bodies were transported to the Asaba mortuary.
According to him, his committee advised that the Ministry of Transportation or Inland Waterways investigate the subject of supplying life jackets to passengers before they board any water transportation. “There’s also the need to educate our colleagues on safety measures because we like to take risk,” Oghogho told me.
