Emeka Rollas, the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), clarified why the guild could not pursue legal action against producer Adanma Luke following the tragic death of actor Junior Pope Odonwodo. Junior Pope, along with four crew members, lost their lives on April 10, 2024, when their boat capsized on the River Niger during the production of The Other Side of Life, a film produced by Adanma Luke.
Initially, the AGN suspended Adanma Luke and banned riverine area film productions. However, Rollas later explained that the guild lacked the legal standing to sue because only the actor’s direct family or spouse could take legal action, based on the terms of his contract. Additionally, Junior Pope was not a dues-paying member of the guild, disqualifying him or his family from receiving AGN benefits.
Adanma’s suspension was eventually lifted in August, with the guild also reinstating approval for film projects in riverine areas, provided safety protocols are strictly followed.
“Update on Junior Pope, you know I was here and I said that we are about to sue. In the course of interacting with our legal adviser, he said that from the contract that Junior Pope signed with the producer, the AGN did not have the locum to sue.He said either the direct family or the wife should sue the producer.
“Now we go back to the structure that we are talking about. Because we just came back from Los Angeles now, we are trying to change a lot of things. From the structure we are creating, tapping from the practice, we are going to begin licensing actors because we also find out that even the Junior Pope, as of the time of his death was not a due-paying member of the guild. He was just an actor who is big and has not paid dues in the last one year before his death.”
Watch video below: