Junior Pope Odonwodo, the Nollywood actor, is said to be alive — a few hours after he was reported dead.
The film star was earlier said to have fallen into the River Niger in Asaba, Delta state on his way to a movie location.
It was gathered he was in the company of some other actors.
“Yes. It happened at Asaba, River Niger. He had a fatal boat mishap. Unfortunately, he lost his life with four others that have not been identified yet,” Abubakar Yakubu, the national secretary of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), told TheCable Lifestyle on Wednesday.
A few hours later, Yakubu said the actor “is alive but in a coma”. He also disclosed that a medical team was called to resuscitate Pope.
According to the AGN secretary, the film star is currently in the hospital receiving treatment.
“Yes. He is alive. God has done it for us. He was in a coma all this while. Fortunately, when the medical team called, they said there is still life in him and they resuscitated him,” he said.
“Presently he is in the hospital now. Receiving further treatment. I can confirm that he is alive.”
Pope earlier shared a video of himself on a boat on his way to the movie location.
“See me lamenting….The risk we take to entertain you; crossing river 9ja yesterday with no life jacket…. Na wahooooo Who does that ??” the actor captioned the Instagram post.
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect the current situation report on Junior Pope.