Media personality,Oap Toolz clap- back at the Man who directed a criticism on Jennifer Awele,late  actor,Junior Pope’s wife.

On December 8, 2025, media personality Oap Toolz responded angrily to a social media user, David Obiasogu, who criticized late actor’s wife, Jennifer Awele for “grooving” i.e. attending an event and using a brand-new iPhone 17 barely a year after the death of her husband, Junior Pope.

 According to the report;the man had tweeted that the late actor’s wife,Jennifer, was acting “as though she had already moved on,” pointing to the fact that she was at an event, taking pictures and filming a video on an iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

The media personality, Toolz fired back, asking “Barely a year?”  pointing out that the late actor, Junior Pope, had died 20 months ago. She asked rhetorically whether the widow should “lock herself away and mourn for the rest of her life.” The media personality, Toolz added that if men were in such a situation, many would likely remarry within a year of losing a wife. 

Profile of the media personality, Toolz

Toolz is the public name of Tolu Oniru Demuren, a well-known media personality and radio/television host in Nigeria.

She often speaks out on social issues and defends people who she feels are being unfairly criticized, especially women and widows under public scrutiny. In this case, she used her platform to defend Jennifer Awele and to question the societal double standard around mourning and widowhood. Her intervention shows her willingness to challenge social stigma and speak out for empathy and understanding.

What Jennifer Awele (Junior Pope’s widow) said and how she responded to the issues surrounded her 

However, the late actor’s wife, Jennifer Awele has previously addressed the grief and loss she has endured since her husband’s death. 

On April 10, 2025, marking one year since her husband died, she shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram. She described the past year as “extremely difficult,” saying that “not a day has gone by without a thought of you.” She recalled how their children contend with the reality of their father’s absence, asking when he would fulfill promises he made like taking them to a football academy, or bringing a toy car for the youngest. 

After the death of her father-in-law (months later), the late actor’s wife, Jennifer again mourned publicly. In a postdated May 2025, she wrote: “Barely one month ago, I was with you in Enugu… Some days later… I screamed but had to quickly pull myself together…” She described the loss as surreal and painful but leaned on faith citing scriptures about resurrection (John 5:28–29; Acts 24:15) and urging strength for her children and family. 

Thus, while Jennifer has been publicly mourning and honoring her late husband and father-in-law, there’s no record (in the reports) of her directly addressing the accusation that she was “grooving.” Rather, her public posts reflect grief, remembrance, and commitment to raising her children.

Mixed Support and Criticism from the public 

The reaction among netizens and public figures to the criticism and Toolz’s defense has been mixed but leaned heavily toward support for Jennifer. Many slammed David Obiasogu’s comments as insensitive and disrespectful. For example, one user wrote:

 “This woman stayed off the media for a good one year to mourn her husband, what do you people really want her to do? Take her life too?” 

Another wrote:

“The world revolves around men alone I guess??? What else do you need from her? Mourning a loved one is forever.” 

 Some defended her right to resume living her life, pointing out that two years had passed since her husband’s death:

 “It will be 2 years on April 10th… Therefore, the mourning period is over. She has her life to live.” 

On the other hand, some of the earlier critics such as Esther Nwachukwu had argued that a “young widow is not supposed to just go about her business” shortly after her husband’s death.

But others, including Eddie Watson, condemned such judgments, calling them disrespectful and arguing that grief cannot be dictated by others. 

Additionally, veteran actors Rita Edochie and Chinwe Owoh  publicly urged Nigerians to “leave her alone” and allow Jennifer to grieve and bury her husband in peace. They emphasized that every marriage has its own struggles, and public assumptions about trouble before his death were unhelpful. 

The uproar triggered by David Obiasogu’s criticism and the subsequent intervention by Toolz  highlights a bigger conversation about mourning, widowhood, and public scrutiny in Nigeria. While some believe there should be a prescribed way and timeline to grieve, many others argue that grief, recovery, and moving forward are deeply personal and cannot be judged externally. Jennifer Awele appears to have chosen to navigate her grief privately (through tributes, faith, and caring for her children), and supporters argue that she deserves empathy, not condemnation.

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