The Ebonyi State Police Command has dismissed four constables from service for allegedly engaging in criminal activities, including stealing, extortion, illegal duty, corruption and absconding from official operation.

Reports say one of the constables allegedly stole a motorcycle while the others were accused of extorting N130,000 from their victim during an illegal duty.

The victim reported the matter to the command and the policemen were arrested and paraded for identification by the victim.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Awosola Awotinde said the constables had been subjected to orderly room trial and dismissed, adding that they would be arraigned in court soon.

Awotinde said: “They have been tried and dismissed. On the issue of the policeman who allegedly stole a motorcycle, he has been dismissed and he is going to face the full wrath of the law.

“We will not only dismiss them from the force, we will also arraign them before regular courts for the criminal offences they have committed. You cannot be taken to court as a serving policeman. You must first be dismissed and then you go to court as a civilian.

“The affected policemen are constables. The one who stole a motorcycle and the one who fought with somebody over money are constables. They have been tried and dismissed.”

It was gathered that before their dismissal, the cops who had not spent up to eight months in the service were detained for some weeks while investigation into their alleged offences was being conducted.

“It is unfortunate. These constables have not even spent up to eight months in the force before their dismissal. They just passed out from the Police Training College and they were even among the luckiest.

“On passing out of the college, some constables will spend three to four months before they will start receiving salary but these ones started receiving salary the moment they passed out.

“We wash our dirty linen in the public and so if anyone of us commits a crime, he or she will be brought to justice accordingly,” the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Loveth Odah added.