The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) Emeka Rollas has shared why the guild did not take legal action against producer Adanma Luke following the tragic death of actor Junior Pope.
Rollas shared this in a recent interview on Arise.
The AGN president explained that the decision was largely influenced by the contractual agreement Junior Pope had with Adanma.
According to Rollas, the contract gave the legal right to sue solely to Pope’s immediate family or wife, not the AGN.
“In the course of interacting with our legal adviser, he informed us that from the contract Junior Pope signed with the producer, the AGN had no legal standing to sue. He said that only the direct family or wife could take legal action,” Rollas explained.
He further revealed that at the time of his death, Junior Pope was not a dues-paying member of the guild which also limited AGN’s ability to intervene in the matter.
Rollas also shared that the guild is currently working on restructuring, with plans to introduce a licensing system for actors.
“We’re looking at changing a lot of things. We’re going to begin licensing actors as part of this restructuring. This will also address issues like Junior Pope’s case. As of his passing, he had not paid his dues for over a year,” Rollas added.
This initiative, which is partly inspired by practices observed in Los Angeles, aims to strengthen the support system for actors and ensure they are better protected in the future.
Junior Pope tragically died in a boat accident on April 10, 2024, while en route to a location for the filming of Adanma Luke’s Another Side of Life.
