President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, has revealed that the two actors who died in Owerri, Imo State, while filming were not members of the guild.
Rollas made this known in an Instagram post on Sunday, days after reports surfaced that four actors had been rushed to the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, where two were confirmed dead on arrival.
In the post, he shared an image that read: “So sad some Actors who are not members of Actors Guild just lost their lives while filming in Owerri. We have repeatedly warned that Actors must join the Guild to practice in Nollywood.”
In the caption, the AGN president reflected on the tragedy, which came shortly after the memorial of late actor Junior Pope.
“Barely a week after the memorial service of our member Late JNR Pope, tragedy struck in Owerri involving two promising young actors. They are not members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria but this points to two things,” he wrote.
“1. The devil still wants this pattern of mass death repeated on an annual basis. If not for God the death toll in Owerri could have been four persons.
“Exactly the same number last year in Asaba. Please let all Actors and indeed Nollywood prepare for this year’s prayer outing with @realjerryeze @streamsofjoyabuja.”
He also raised concerns about the safety standards on some Nollywood sets, particularly those operated by non-professionals.
“2. We cannot continue like this. Everywhere in the country people just wake up and equip themselves with cameras and they have become Nollywood. This is a bad trend.
“These people camp themselves in an unhealthy, unverified environment making content. Content creators have to be licensed. RIP.”
According to a source, Kaito Karisia, the deceased and two other actors were partying at a location provided by the movie director after filming.
The director allegedly went to bed early, leaving the actors and three women. He reportedly discovered the incident in the early hours of Friday while switching from a generator to public power.
Karisia claimed the surviving actors were rushed to the teaching hospital, where two were confirmed dead while the others are responding to treatment.
One survivor reportedly said they all ate rice and had only a sip of Calypso and wine, but the two deceased actors drank more from the bottle.
