Retired Major General Henry Kwami Anyidoho says political vigilantes and party supporters must not be armed under the guise of ‘self-defence’.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, he stressed that Ghana’s peace should be paramount in all dealings of stakeholders ahead of the 2020 general elections.

According to him, aggrieved parties and individuals should always adopt legitimate means to report their grievances.

“Whether in opposition or not, you should know that arming people is not the right way because when there is a war, it will affect all of us. Violence doesn’t discriminate and all of us will be victims.

“There are security forces that are professionally trained and responsible for the defence of the country and its citizens so we [politicians] should leave them to do their job."

He further stated that, “If we do not have any evil plans, we should not be talking about self defence in the first place, because that  is someone else’s business.

“People are trained, employed and paid regularly to do that , why don’t we trust them and leave that job for them to do.”

He cautioned that the peace we are enjoying the country is invaluable to be making proclamations of violence.

“Stop war mongering. Stop using words like ‘the country will burn’ because when the country starts burning, putting it off won’t be an easy task.”

Advising security personnel, Major General Anyidoho said the police and military to do their jobs professionally.

He noted that should the Ghana Armed Forces carry out their mandate as required by the constitution, they can handle every situation without denting their reputation.

“I trust that my colleagues who are in Service will act professionally and protect the country. So we [citizens] simply have to trust them to do their jobs when they are called to do so and if they do it genuinely then there should be no problem.”