Emeka Rollas, the newly re-elected president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), has clarified that the actors who reportedly died after collapsing on a movie set in Owerri, Imo State, weren’t members of the guild.
The incident, which occurred final week, concerned 4 actors who reportedly misplaced consciousness after consuming and ingesting on set.
The police acknowledged that the 2 died on arrival on the Federal College Educating Hospital in Owerri, whereas the opposite two are mentioned to be recovering.
Reacting by way of an Instagram submit, Rollas expressed disappointment over the incident and pressured the AGN’s repeated warnings for actors to register with the guild earlier than taking part in movie productions.
“So unhappy some actors who aren’t members of the Actors Guild simply misplaced their lives whereas filming in Owerri,” he wrote. “We have now repeatedly warned that actors should be a part of the guild to observe in Nollywood.”
The tragedy comes simply days after a memorial was held for late actor Junior Pope, who died in April 2024 throughout a film shoot in Asaba, Delta State, alongside three crew members.
Drawing parallels between the 2 incidents, Rollas steered that Nollywood could also be experiencing a disturbing pattern of annual mass casualties on movie units.
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“This factors to 2 issues: the satan nonetheless desires this sample of mass demise repeated on an annual foundation,” he mentioned. “If not for God, the demise toll in Owerri might have been 4. The identical quantity we misplaced final 12 months in Asaba.”
Unhealthy pattern
Rollas additionally criticised the rising variety of unregulated movie productions throughout the nation, the place people, in response to him, “simply get up, equip themselves with cameras, and name themselves Nollywood.”
“It is a dangerous pattern. These individuals camp themselves in unhealthy, unverified environments, making content material. Content material creators need to be licensed.”
In response to the tragedy, the AGN has introduced plans to carry a prayer programme in partnership with Jerry Eze of Streams of Pleasure Ministries, a well-liked pastor.
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Rollas mentioned the initiative goals to hunt divine intervention and safeguard Nollywood from additional loss.
“We can not proceed like this,” he mentioned, urging all actors to take part within the upcoming non secular train.
In 2024, Nollywood misplaced roughly 23 actors because of causes starting from sickness to monetary hardship, plaguing Africa’s most vital movie trade.
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