Cattle Thieves Storm University Of Abuja, Gunshots Startle Students

Panic gripped the members of University of Abuja   last night as gunshots sounded around the institution for a short period. Several students at the university told SaharaReporters that they initially feared that they were besieged by a terrorist attack by members of the dreaded Islamist sect, Boko Haram, or were caught in crossfire between the sect’s militants and officers of the Nigerian Army. However, the members of the university breathed a sigh of relief when they discovered that the gunshots came from security operatives on the trail of cattle robbers.
According to an eyewitness who just spoke to Saharareporters said that they heard several gun shots yesterday night at about 1.00 around the school premises which made students to rush out of their hostels and scampered for safety in different directions leading to the commotion and pandemonium on the campus  as many students were said to have sustained varying degree of injuries as a result of stampede.                                             
The source said that some thieves came to the campus to steal cows that belonged to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture which were meant for the students practicals. "I heard that the thieves entered the school premises where the cows were tied and started shooting at the fulani herdsmen who were keeping watch      over the cows. We thought it was an attack from the Boko Haram or cult attack that was the reason  everybody was running out of the hostels for safety. ".                                           
 We learnt that such incident has happened in the faculty where many cows were stolen from the School Agriculture Farm and also the campus was surrounded by the Fulani herdsmen who are residing in the area about few meters away from the campus. The source further said that several calls were made to the police and soldiers when the incident happened but up till this morning there was no presence of any security agents on the campus. Though normalcy was said to have returned to the school as at time of this report this morning.
Saharareporters contacted Police PPRO, Frank Mba, who confirmed that the cattle owners who mobilized alongside the police to retrieve the cows from the rustlers caused the commotion. He stated that several of the cows had been recovered, adding that the students must have panicked because of the chase put up by the community and the police.
He stated that the no student of the university was hurt in the operation.