The **All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State says a fake APC membership card with bandit leader Bello Turji’s name and photo is being shared around, and the party says it is not real. The APC called it a deliberate attempt to damage the party’s reputation.

The party’s spokesman in the state, Yusuf Idris, said the forged card was found during the ongoing APC electronic registration of members. He told reporters on Monday that the card was clearly fake and was made by people who want to disrupt the smooth registration process.

Idris said the fake card is easy to spot because it has obvious mistakes. He pointed out the bold “26” date on the card, which is supposed to mean January 26, and that the picture is of a known criminal whose image security agencies and many Nigerians recognise.

He also explained that Bello Turji could not be a real APC member because no one can be registered without a National Identification Number (NIN), and Turji does not have one. Idris said that during registration, individuals must fill in a form with their details before being captured by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). So, it would be impossible for someone in a military uniform with a gun to be enrolled legally.

The APC spokesman noted that the membership number on the fake card begins with “26,” which is the code for Niger State, not Zamfara. He said valid APC cards in Zamfara begin with “36,” and that this mistake shows how poorly the fake card was made.

Idris said preliminary checks suggest the forged card may be connected to Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri), an associate of Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who was recently suspended from the registration exercise over alleged misconduct. The party said the fake card first appeared on Shinkafi’s Facebook page.

The Zamfara APC has completely distanced itself from the forged card, which reportedly carries the registration number “ID APC 261113000102.” Idris urged the public to ignore the fake document.

He also said the party has reported the matter to security agencies and is confident that those behind the forgery will be arrested and prosecuted soon.