The Anambra State Police Command confirmed that the Anam River grave did not include the lifeless remains of Nollywood actor John Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.Only three of the deceased's families had given their approval for their loved ones to be buried by the river, according to SP Ikenga Tochukwu.Following the three victims' funerals, the heartbroken family went back to the location to collect their daughter's remains and decided to bury her in her homeland.
The Anambra State Police Command reports that the lifeless body of Nollywood legend John Paul Odonwodo, also referred to as Junior Pope, wasn't buried by the bank of the Anam River.
The Command spokesperson, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, explained in a recent statement that only three of the deceased's family authorised their loved ones to be buried next to the river.
After the funerals of the three fatal incidents, he noticed that one heartbroken family had returned to the spot to retrieve their daughter's remains. In an attempt to provide her with a more befitting funeral, they decided to bury her in her ancestral home.
Junior Pope's remains, according to Ikenga, were set in a mortuary.
Three of the drowned families agreed that the victims should be buried next to the river, the Command found out after investigating the unconfirmed rumour that the retrieved bodies, including Junior Pope's, were buried by the Riverside where the boat tragedy occurred.
However, the other two victims were still buried there when the relatives of one of the victims chose to exhume the remains so that she could be buried in her state properly.
He added, "Junior Pope and another are still in the mortuary awaiting the burial arrangements made by the families of the deceased.
The PPRO continued by stating that the unfortunate situation is still being investigated by the Command.
"We have the statements from the two boat drivers and the movie producer, and our operatives have already put in place the necessary actions/moves as directed by the Commissioner of Police to determine the criminal liability of any person, if any, in the mishap," he stated.
