Nollywood actress and producer, Adanma Luke has finally spoken out about the tragic boat accident that claimed the lives of actor Junior Pope and four other crew members.
The accident occurred on the River Niger while the team was returning from the shooting location of the film “The Other Side of Life.”
In a series of emotional videos posted to her Instagram page on Saturday, Luke disclosed that she narrowly missed being on the ill-fated boat due to a last-minute task.
“I was supposed to be on that boat with them,” she explained, “but my Director of Production told me to bring the memory card used for the filming.”
This twist of fate saved her from being part of the tragic accident that unfolded shortly thereafter.
Luke also shared that this was her first time working with the late Junior Pope. Overcome with grief, she expressed feelings of guilt for choosing to shoot the movie in Asaba, Delta State, where the accident took place.
“Shooting the movie in Asaba was my decision, and I blame myself for it,” Luke stated, visibly shaken by the events.
The boat capsized while the crew was returning from the film’s location, leading to the untimely death of Junior Pope and four others.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the Nollywood community, highlighting the risks filmmakers often face while on location.
Recounting 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.
“I blame myself that I would have been in Lagos, doing my thing in Lagos. I blame myself for coming down to Asaba.”
Luke said she was meant to be on the ill-fated boat.
She explained, “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.
“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.”
Worried by Emeka’s mood, she continued, “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.”
Luke said her director told her he didn’t know what happened.
“My director was saying that he didn’t know what happened. He was on a life jacket. Emeka, the D.O.P. was on a life jacket. There was still one life jacket available, I don’t know who had it.
“But my PM said that day they saw life jackets there and took them. He even told the late Friday to send one to Junior Pope, but Junior Pope said it was dirty, so he didn’t take it.
“These people with the life jackets survived. They also told me that when they were in the water trying to survive, Junior Pope was also there, asking if everybody was okay. They even threw a gallon to him to hold himself, which he was holding, but all of a sudden, they didn’t see him again.
“It was when they came out that they noticed that he was no longer there because they said divers came and rescued some of them while other divers were still there trying to rescue others,” she added.
Luke stated that she feels grief for the loss of her crew members, whom she considered family.
She added, “I still can’t believe this. These crew members were my family. They’ve been working with me. If I’m working in Lagos, they’ll come from Asaba to come and work with me.
“All through last year, we stayed together in Lagos. We were filming and working together.
“This is my first time working with JP. He’s my friend. The wife is my friend too.
“I talked to the wife sometime, and that was when she said, ‘Why aren’t you giving my husband work?’ JP said, ‘Ada, you be my friend, why you no dey give me work?’
“I told JP that you know na action film you dey shoot, I hardly do action. He said no o. He dey do love story o, he dey do other things.”
