The political landscape in Nigeria has been thrown into a frenzy following the circulation of a photograph purportedly showing the notorious bandit leader, Bello Turji’s alleged All Progressives Congress (APC) membership card.
Turji’s alleged APC membership card began trending on social media platforms early Monday, January 26, 2026, sparking widespread outrage and calls for an immediate investigation into how a wanted terrorist could be linked to Nigeria’s ruling party.
The controversial image shows a digital membership slip featuring the name “Bello Turji“, a wanted bandit leader long associated with mass killings, kidnappings, and attacks on communities in Zamfara and neighbouring states, alongside a photograph of the kingpin clad in military fatigues.
This sudden development comes at a time when the APC is conducting its nationwide e-registration exercise.
However, the Zamfara State chapter of the APC has swiftly distanced itself from Turji’s alleged APC membership card.
The party described the membership card as fake, forged, and a deliberate attempt by mischievous elements to tarnish the image of the ruling party.
Reacting to the development, the State APC Publicity Secretary, Malam Yusuf Idris, said the party had uncovered a doctored APC membership card allegedly edited to include the photograph of the infamous bandit leader, Bello Turji, and falsely present him as a registered party member.
Idris made this known in a statement issued in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital.
According to him, the alleged forgery was the handiwork of individuals bent on sabotaging the ongoing APC electronic registration exercise in the state.
“The party has come across a fake APC membership card in circulation, doctored to carry the edited photograph of the notorious bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji, and falsely portraying him as a registered member of our great party,” Idris stated.
“This was carried out by mischievous elements who are not happy with the smooth, successful, and coordinated manner in which the ongoing e-registration of members is going on in the state.”
He added that the forgery was so crude that even an ordinary person could easily detect the inconsistencies on the card.
“Even to the man on the street, the forgery is detectable right from the card, especially the emboldened ‘26’ on the date, which refers to the 26th day of January,” Idris said.
He further noted that the photograph used on the card was a widely circulated image of Bello Turji that is well known to security agencies and Nigerians, making the forgery obvious.
“Similarly, the photograph of the hardened criminal used on the card is his picture, popularly known by both security agencies and Nigerians in general,” he added.
The APC spokesman also stressed that the party’s registration process is closely tied to Nigeria’s National Identification Number (NIN) system, making it practically impossible for a wanted terrorist to be enrolled.
“No person can be duly registered without a NIN number, which Turji doesn’t have. This alone makes nonsense of the efforts of the mischief makers who failed to realise that APC programmes are mostly flawless,” Idris said.
He explained that before any individual is enrolled by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the person must fill out a form containing full personal details and undergo biometric capture.
“How then could NIMC capture him with a military uniform and a gun on his shoulders? Or are they blind, or have they forgotten that such features are not acceptable?” he queried.
Idris further pointed out discrepancies in the alleged membership details, saying the identification code on the card did not align with Zamfara State’s registration records.
“From our records of today’s registration from Kware Ward, we did not have any ID number with the initial code ‘26’, which is for Niger State, but was forged for a Zamfara membership card, talk less of the name,” he said.
According to him, Zamfara APC membership cards begin with the code ‘36’, not ‘26’, further exposing what he described as the ignorance of those behind the forgery.
“We have reported the forgery case to the security agencies, and we are sure the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted soon,” he added.
The controversy comes amid growing public concern over allegations of political actors courting or shielding armed groups in Nigeria’s northwest, where banditry has continued to claim thousands of lives and displace entire communities.
