Bayelsa Police Command has it warded off attempt by armed bandits to attack and abduct some expatriates residing in the state capital.

Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat, said the superior firepower of the police overwhelmed the kidnappers.

Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said an assault rifle was recovered from the bandits, who fled the scene on arrival of policemen.

According to him, on Saturday unknown gunmen attacked the Expatriates Quarters at Onopa and opened fire on security personnel on guard in an attempt to abduct the expatriates, saying the security operatives fired back and the gunmen withdrew, abandoning their assault rifle.

Butswat said they escaped through the waterways in a speedboat, saying Manhunt for the gunmen has been intensified and investigation is ongoing.

Investigation revealed that the expatriates were oil workers withdrawn from various oilfields shutdown due to attacks by the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers.

Meanwhile, figures obtained from Agip and Aiteo, showed that the two oil companies lost 140,000 barrels daily of crude oil production from their oilfields due to the attacks.

The figure showed that with the price of crude oil going for about 48 dollars per barrel, an estimated 6.72 million dollars daily is lost by the two operators to attacks on oil export pipelines in Bayelsa.