A youth group, the Kaduna Youth Coalition for Peace and Development (KAYCPD) has thrown its weight behind the White Paper issued on Zaria clashes by the state government labelling the Shiites group as an insurgent group.

According to ceoafrica, the group took this stand on Friday while responding to a letter purportedly written to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Borno Elders Forum (BEF) in which they warned that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) could become the next Boko Haram because Kaduna State Government had designated it an insurgent group.

President of the group, Peter Bawa, urged the state government not to deal with the IMN led El- Zakzaky with kid gloves, saying it was this same tactics the Borno elders used to blackmail the people until the Boko Haram became a monster.

Bawa expressed shock that even when notable islamic organisations like MURIC had denounce the group, they seemed to be enjoying the backing  of the Borno elders, describing such backing as suspicious.

The KAYCPD president recalled that in the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, the elders had kicked against military operations, claiming the government was committing genocide against people of the North.

At the inception of Boko Haram as a ragtag group of misguided youths that were flogging women for not dressing the way they expected, these same Borno Elders kept quiet. When the fanatical youths began targeted assassinations, the elders only paid condolence visits at which they gloat over the demise of their perceived political rivals.

Even when the terrorism of their protégés spilled all over the country, they continue to implore that their sons should be spared and not be treated as terrorists that they are.

“It was only when the Borno Elders became the target of their own sins that they started fleeing into Abuja and Kano, leaving the less fortunate part of the population in IDPs camps.

“The terrorists that they groomed have done a good job of their communities such that there is not much to destroy again. These elderly opportunists have, therefore, thought the best thing is to prop up an emerging terror group in a new geographical area for the purpose of repeating the circle of extortion they deployed Boko Haram for in the North East.

“We like to ask the Borno Elders to go back and do their homework, conduct research and learn that Kaduna and Borno states have clear differences when it comes to issues of dealing with insurgents or groups that have consistently demonstrated anti-society tendencies,” Bawa said.