APC Denies Any Ties To Membership Card With Bandit Leader’s Photo

The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised concerns over the circulation of a counterfeit membership card allegedly featuring the image of notorious bandit leader Bello Turji. According to party officials, the card is a forgery intended to tarnish the party’s image amid its ongoing electronic membership registration exercise.

In a statement issued on Monday in Gusau, APC Publicity Secretary Malam Yusuf Idris described the card as “easily detectable” and attributed its creation to individuals opposed to the smooth progress of the party’s registration process. Idris noted that discrepancies on the card, including the emboldened date ‘26’ and Turji’s photograph, make the forgery obvious to the public.

“Even to the man on the street, the forgery is detectable right from the card in which there’s the emboldened ‘26’ on the date referred to the 26th day of January,” Idris said. He added that Turji, who does not possess a National Identification Number (NIN), could not have been registered in the APC database, emphasizing that registration requires proper NIN documentation.

The spokesman also highlighted that the registration ID code ‘26’ corresponds to Niger State, whereas Zamfara uses code ‘36’, further confirming the card’s inauthenticity. Idris claimed preliminary investigations linked the card to Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri), a known associate of Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi and a recently suspended APC member, noting that the forgery first appeared on Shinkafi’s social media page.

The party has reported the incident to security agencies and expressed confidence that the responsible individuals would face arrest and prosecution. The APC in Zamfara urged citizens to disregard the fake membership card bearing registration number ID: APC 261113000102, reiterating its commitment to a transparent and credible e-registration exercise.

“We therefore call on well-meaning citizens to disregard the card while the investigation into the fabricators is being conducted,” Idris concluded.