The Association of Movie Practitioners, AMPRAC, on Saturday, denied claims that suspected kidnapper, Henry Odenigbo, who was shot dead by police operatives in Lagos on July 4, was a registered member of the association.
The President of AMPRAC, Ifeanyi Azodo gave the disclaimer while speaking to journalists in Enugu.
He said that the suspect was not connected to the association in any way.
Recall that the late Henry Odenigbo, who was identified as a Nollywood actor and a movie producer, lost his life alongside six others who had planned to kidnap a businessman in Lagos.
It was learnt that police operatives, acting on intelligence, ambushed the kidnappers, killing seven of them, including Onuigbo while two members of the syndicate escaped.
Reacting to the incident, Azodo said that checks on AMPRAC’s data base showed that the suspected kidnapper was never a member of the association, adding that people of questionable character were never admitted into the association.
He said: “Attention of all executives, members and fans of our noble and very reputable Nollywood guild, the Association of Movie Practitioners (AMPRAC) was drawn to the rude shock of a very false claim being laid on AMPRAC. One slain suspected kidnapper/armed robber, Prince Henry Odenigbo was said to be a member of AMPRAC. This is very untrue.
“When the news came up, I consulted the AMPRAC chairman of Rivers State. He went through his records and the guys name was not there. I also went through the records that we normally send to the census board, that is our data base and checked and his name was not there.
“So I don’t know why somebody will be saying that. It is untrue, it is unfounded. He was never a member of AMPRAC.
“Also before one becomes a member, we must have to screen the person to make sure that such a person has that reputation to be a member or to carry our ID card. Prince Henry Odenigbo is not known to our association.
“We have the evidence and will willingly furnish you with the data base of AMPRAC Rivers State, where he was said to have been registered. We don’t have such a name and will never have.
“It is our priority to investigate characters that come for registration auditions. We do this as basic steps to ensure that we don’t select criminals.
“We do this before any registration exercise so as to avoid dents on our image.
“This is because we realize our position as role models in the society. We never had such a fellow in our midst and we don’t have such a name in our records,” he said.
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