By Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
THE Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched an investigation into an alleged forgery of a party membership card, doctored to feature the image of infamous bandit leader Bello Turji.
In a statement released by the State Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris Gusau, the party condemned what it termed a “mischievous” attempt to undermine its ongoing electronic membership registration.
The fabricated card, which surfaced on social media earlier this week, purported to show Turji as a registered member.
The APC has firmly disassociated itself from the document, labelling it a clumsy fake.
The statement pointed to several alleged flaws: the card uses an issuance date code (’26’) designated for Niger State, whereas Zamfara’s code is ’36’.
It also noted that the photograph is a widely circulated image of Turji in military attire, and emphasised that no valid registration can occur without a National Identification Number (NIN).
“The forgery is detectable even to the man on the street,” the statement read. “The perpetrators failed to realise that APC programmes are mostly flawless and that such crude tactics would be easily uncovered.”
Preliminary findings by the party have linked the card to associates of a former party official, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, specifically naming one Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri).
The individual was recently suspended from the registration programme for alleged “dubious attitude,” and the forged card first appeared on his Facebook page.
The appearance of the card caused significant consternation within the party’s national establishment and across Zamfara, prompting the swift public rebuttal.
The APC describes the act as a calculated smear campaign against its registration efforts.
“We have reported this forgery case to the security agencies,” the statement concluded. “We are confident the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted soon. We urge the public to disregard this fabricated card entirely.”
The party has reaffirmed its commitment to the integrity of its membership drive and called on citizens to ignore attempts to politicise the security challenges in the state.
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