Membership card linking “terrorist” to Nigerian president’s political party is fake

“The most wanted t3rrorist Bello Turji is Reportedly a registered member of APC (sic),” reads the caption of a Facebook post shared on January 27, 2026, and shared more than 350 times.

APC refers to the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling party, which is frequently accused by critics of doing too little to address the country’s insecurity problems.

The image attached to the post purportedly shows an APC temporary membership card belonging to Turji, a known gang leader in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state. The registration date on the card reads January 26, 2026.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on January 30, 2026. AI symbol added by AFP.

Comments under the post suggest that some people believed the card was authentic.

“I am not surprised,” commented one user.

“A time will come in Nigeria, Bello Tunji will contest for presidential election (sic),” another wrote.

The image has been widely shared on X, Instagram and Threads.

Turji has been accused of extortion, rape and the murder of locals in Zamfara and Sokoto states (archived here).

Armed gangs like those led by Turji were declared “terrorists” by the government in 2022 (archived here).

He has been declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters of Nigeria’s armed forces multiple times but still walks free (archived here, here and here).

However, the purported membership card is fabricated.

Fake card

The membership card lists Zamfara as Turji’s state of registration. However, the indicated ward, Kware, is located in Sokoto state, according to results from the 2023 presidential elections uploaded by Nigeria’s electoral commission (archived here).

Furthermore, there are design inconsistencies, typical signs of an inauthentic document. This is most evident in the registration date and ward columns -- the number “26” and the word “Kware” are misaligned and displayed in a different font.

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Screenshot showing the inconsistent text on the membership card, taken February 4, 2026. AI symbol added by AFP

A temporary membership card shared on Instagram by a media aide of the governor of Niger state, Umar Bago, shows the correct format and style (archived here). 

"I have successfully revalidated my APC membership card. I wish this great political party—the largest in Africa—resounding success in the forthcoming 2027 General Elections," reads the post.

Compared to the original, Turji's photo and name on the fake card appear misaligned and larger than those on the authentic card. The photo sits closer to the border, and his name does not line up with details such as the membership ID and registration date.

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Screenshots taken on February 4, 2026, comparing the fake card (left), with the original one shared by Niger state governor's aide

Although the card may have been altered using regular editing software, analysis conducted using the VeraAI detector tool suggests a 99 percent probability that the membership card purportedly belonging to Turji was AI-generated.

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Image analysis result from the VeraAI detector tool, taken on February 4, 2026

A statement shared on the verified X handle of the APC and signed by its publicity secretary Felix Morka, refuted the claim (archived here).

"All digital parameters represented on the fake slip bear no connection to our party’s membership register," it reads. "For example, the slip purports to be registered in a nonexistent ‘Ward 13’ of Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, which only has 10 Wards. All other information paraded on the fake slip are nonexistent (sic)."

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked other claims about Nigeria’s security crisis here and here.