Entertainment
CONFIRMED: Actor Jnr Pope drowns hours after he posted video on a boat

The actor talked about the risks actors put themselves through to ensure they deliver entertainment to the audience.
Jnr Pope was 39 years old [Instagram/@jnrpope]
Nollywood actor Junior Pope Odonwodo, popularly known as Jnr Pope, has died after drowning in a boat accident.
Jnr Pope died on a movie set in Asaba, the Delta State capital, on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Confusion had trailed his status Wednesday night after Emeka Rollas, the national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), announced that the actor was responding to medical treatment.
“What God cannot do does not exist. Junior Pope is alive. He is taking treatment in the hospital,” Rollassaidin a later deleted post on Instagram.
However, the AGN president confirmed Pope’s passing in a new post on Thursday morning. “It’s so so sad that our joy was shortlived,” he said.

Clearing up the confusion triggered by his initial post, Rollas clarified, “My first post was out of excitement when we noticed his tingling fingers. Two notable hospitals tried their best to revive him but to no avail. God knows the best. We finally lost him.”
The deceased actor was married and blessed with three kids.
Rollas also confirmed that the corpse of one Mr Friday had also been identified, while three other victims of the boat accident, including a makeup artist and a sound guy, are still missing.
The incident happened a few hours after Pope shared a video of himself on his Instagram page, riding a wooden boat without a life jacket, apparently for a scene in the movie he was acting in.
“See me lamenting. The risk we take to entertain you. Crossing river 9ja yesterday with no life jacket. Na wahoooooo. Who does that?” Jnr Pope captioned the video.
Jnr Pope’s death comes less than a week after the passing of Aderounmu Adejumoke, the actress who rose to fame for her role as Esther in the popular Funke Akindele series, Jenifa’s Diary.
This comes after Nollywood suffered a string of losses in March, with three prominent actors losing their lives.
On March 1, Yoruba actor, Tolani Quadri Oyebamiji, popularly known as Sisi Quadri, died after a brief illness.
The incident was followed by the passing of John ‘Mr Ibu’ Okafor the following day, while another veteran thespian, Amaechi Muonagor, died on March 24. The two died after a protracted battle with illnesses.
Entertainment
Davido “Lol, I AM IGBO by blood”
A social media user, @Yakbel, cautioned Davido against maintaining close ties with Igbos, suggesting they would eventually betray him.

Music star Davido has responded to a social media post criticising his association with the Igbo community.
A user, @Yakbel, cautioned Davido against maintaining close ties with Igbos, suggesting they would eventually betray him.
The user wrote: “Davido just dey carry Ibo full body, until when dem betray am before e rest, Yoruba boy dey frolick with Ibos in 2025, they want your head and everything you have to belong to them, you can never satisfy Ibos ooo, IBOs are not people you surround yourself with as a Yoruba man”
Davido swiftly dismissed the tribal sentiment, replying, “Lol, I AM IGBO by blood”.
Entertainment
France’s Canal+ set to take over DStv, GOtv owner MultiChoice
“This is a major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart,” Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said in a statement.

South Africa’s competition authority announced Wednesday it had approved the buyout of Africa’s largest pay TV enterprise MultiChoice by France’s Canal+, which wants to expand its footprint on the continent.
The merger, which has been in the works for nearly a year, needs the final go-ahead from the commission’s Competition Tribunal, it said in a statement.
Canal+ holds around 45 percent of MultiChoice’s shares and offered last year to acquire the remainder for 125 rand (6.16 euro) per share.
Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group.
MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 19.3 million subscribers, it says.
It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.
“This is a major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart,” Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said in a statement.
Entertainment
My father was jailed for insisting I go to school – Atiku
“Patience is not weakness. It is a weapon of the wise. When we resisted military dictatorship, they offered me a governorship without an election — I rejected it. In 1999, I earned it the right way and became Vice President.”

Former Vice President and Founder of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Atiku Abubakar, has reiterated his conviction that education is the most transformative force for personal and national development.
He stated this while addressing AUN graduating class of 2025.
My father was jailed for resisting my enrollment in school,” he revealed in a podcast series produced by AUN’s Communications and Multimedia Design department.
We started from nothing — sitting on the bare ground, writing with our fingers. That’s how far I’ve come.”
“To aspiring entrepreneurs among the graduates, Atiku offered a clear directive: “Build with integrity. Keep your business independent. Don’t rely on the government. Avoid unnecessary confrontation, but never compromise your values.”
Contrary to popular assumptions, Atiku clarified that AUN was not a direct response to his childhood struggles.
“The AUN story is different. It was the American Peace Corps that taught me in 1961 that truly ignited the vision,” he said.
Atiku emphasised the importance of patience and courage, sharing personal anecdotes from his journey.
“I’ve faced tribulations. I’ve been hunted, but I never wavered,” he said.
“Patience is not weakness. It is a weapon of the wise. When we resisted military dictatorship, they offered me a governorship without an election — I rejected it. In 1999, I earned it the right way and became Vice President.”
He also recounted learning courage from his mentor, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who faced a death sentence with unflinching bravery.“His blood pressure was normal on the day of his scheduled execution. That’s a soldier. That’s courage,” Atiku said.
Atiku also detailed surviving an assassination attempt in Kaduna.“I hid my wife and children in a wardrobe and stepped forward to confront the attackers. They shot at me but missed. I stood up and demanded, ‘Why did you fire?’ That’s what courage looks like,” he said.
To aspiring entrepreneurs among the graduates, Atiku offered a clear directive: “Build with integrity. Keep your business independent. Don’t rely on the government. Avoid unnecessary confrontation, but never compromise your values.”
Source: Daily Trust
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