An All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial aspirant for Zamfara North, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has petitioned the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, over the alleged involvement of serving military personnel in the party’s November 2 rerun primary.
Shinkafi, through his solicitors, YAS Law Firm, called for an investigation into the alleged role of Lieutenant Commander Salisu Abdulrahman Umar, Chief Security Officer to the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and other military personnel in the exercise.
The petition, dated November 9 and acknowledged by the Defence Ministry on November 10, accused Umar of engaging in partisan political activities and interfering in the primary.
Shinkafi alleged that Umar collaborated with political actors and members of the APC primary election committee to manipulate 42 ward result sheets and the senatorial district result sheet across Shinkafi, Zurmi, Kaura Namoda and Birnin Magaji local government areas.
According to the petition, Umar was not listed in the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police’s Operation Order No. 29/DOPS/2026, which contained the security arrangements for the rerun primary.
The aspirant also accused Umar of working with the primary election committee, allegedly led by Dr Awwal Abdullahi Aliyu, to produce fraudulent result sheets despite the absence of official voting materials at designated centres.
Shinkafi urged the Defence Minister to direct the Military Police and Defence Intelligence Agency to investigate the allegations. He also called for Umar’s interdiction pending the outcome of the investigation and a court-martial if found culpable.
In the petition, Shinkafi said the alleged actions undermined the credibility of the primary and called for a thorough investigation into the conduct of the military personnel involved.
The petition was accompanied by copies of the disputed result sheets, the police operational order, video and photographic evidence, as well as 14 social media links which Shinkafi claimed supported his allegations.
The dispute followed an earlier APC senatorial primary held on May 28, 2026, which Shinkafi said was nullified by the Federal High Court in Gusau and the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division. He said the courts ordered a fresh exercise involving all cleared aspirants.
He alleged that the November 2 rerun was also manipulated and failed to reflect the wishes of APC members in Zamfara North.