*Producer Blames Self For Shooting In Asaba
MORE puzzles continue to come up over the circumstances surrounding the boat mishap in Anambra State that claimed the lives of Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, and others on Thursday, April 11, while returning to Asaba, Delta State, from a movie location.
There have been accusations and counter-accusations since the incident, with many Nigerians heckling the producer, Adanma Luke, for alleged inadequate safety precautions.
But the producer of the movie, The other side of life, which has now been axed, along with the yet to be released movie, by the Actors Guild of Nigeria, in a trending video, alleged: “TC Okafor was standing on the boat while it was moving. TC Okafor vowed to come and scatter my set, because I hadn’t paid him his salary.
“ Life jacket was given out for free, Junior Pope was given a life jacket, but he refused to wear it, because he said it was dirty. Everyone wearing a life jacket on that boat survived.
“After the boat capsized, a gallon was thrown to Junior Pope and he was even checking on everyone while they were inside the water, but all of a sudden, he drowned.”
In another video shared on her Instagram account on Saturday, April 13, she said she was supposed to be on the boat with them, but the Director of Production told her to bring the memory card used for the filming.
“On the 10th of April, we lost five of our members who were on their way to a location through the means of boat transportation and had an accident.
“I’ve been so traumatised; I’ve been so cold. This whole thing, it still feels like a dream to me, that I can just feel I can still wake up from this dream.
“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.
“I blame myself that I would have been in Lagos, doing my thing in Lagos. I blame myself for coming down to Asaba.”
In his own account, a man believed to be the driver of the ill-fated boat, said: “I asked about the life jacket and Junior Pope said he didn’t have money for it, because it was the producer’s responsibility.”
And actor, TC Okafor, one of the survivors, who was rescued immediately the boat capsized, insisted: “Adanma Luke said I should be arrested.”
