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Borno Lawmaker Sacks Legislative Aide Who Described Boko Haram's Shekau As 'Courageous', ‘True Hero’

Tanda had taken to his Facebook page on Thursday to describe the nefarious terrorist leader as a “true hero” for blowing up himself.

A Member of the House of Representatives from Borno State, Abdulkadir Rahis, has sacked Bukar Tanda, one of his aides, for describing the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau as a “true hero”.

Shekau's was reported dead on Wednesday. He was said to have killed himself to avoid being captured by members of the Islamic State Of West African Province fighters.

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Tanda had taken to his Facebook page on Thursday to describe the nefarious terrorist leader as a “true hero” for blowing up himself. 

In the now-deleted Facebook post, Tanda praised the dreaded terrorist.

“I admire and appreciate his courage to terminate his life. He lived a life of a hero and died a true hero. He did it in such a way that not even traces of his corpse will be found,” Tanda wrote.

But in a letter personally signed by Rahis on Friday, the lawmaker terminated the appointment of the aide.

“I wish to formally write and notify you of the termination of your appointment as my legislative aide, forthwith.

“Your actions, utterances and opinion of recent are at variance with my interest, that of my constituency and our great party, the APC (All Progressives Congress).

“The letter also serves as a disclaimer to any action or position you took or wish to take, on any matter that may have the remotest connection with me as a person or my office.”

The sacked aide further took to Facebook on Sunday to welcome the decision of his former boss, while also distancing himself from terrorist activities.

Tanda, who was quizzed by security agents over his statement, wrote, “I have learnt a life lesson and have now had a clear idea of the companies to relate with.

“To Honourable Abdulkadir Rahis, I cannot find the right words to express my appreciation for the opportunity to serve as your aide and more importantly for the spirit of brotherhood you shared with me although our memorable years of togetherness. Your decision to terminate my appointment is well accepted and in good faith and I found nothing wrong with your decision. I wish you all the best in your endeavours,” he stated.

Multiple military sources had earlier confirmed to SaharaReporters that Shekau blew himself up with an explosive when it was clear that the ISWAP fighters wanted him to relinquish power to them, after all his commanders were captured and killed in the forest.

The incident took place following the invasion of the terror group’s stronghold in the Sambisa forest area by ISWAP deadlier fighters.

ISWAP, which had broken away from the Shekau-led Boko Haram faction in 2016 after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, reportedly raided the group’s hideout using no fewer than 50 gun trucks.

According to HumAngle, Shekau’s enclave was tracked down by ISWAP using its forces based in the Timbuktu Triangle. His fighters were killed in the process, followed by a long gunfire exchange between the invading group and Shekau’s bodyguards.

Shekau had been the leader of Boko Haram since 2009 following the death of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf.

He had been rumoured to have been killed by the Nigerian military at least four times between July 2009 and August 2016.

In August 2016, the Nigerian Air Force had claimed he had been “fatally wounded” by military bombardments, but the terror group released a video only a month later showing he was alive.