Ribadu had accused soldiers and policemen of selling weapons to criminal groups within the country.
The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, has addressed how arms are entering the hands of non-state actors, linking the issue to the ongoing conflict in Libya and instability across the Sahel region.
Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, explained that the external crises had worsened Nigeria’s insurgency and terrorism.
Buba’s remarks came in response to accusations made by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, that a large portion of the illegal arms used in Nigeria's criminal activities originally belonged to the government.
Ribadu had accused soldiers and policemen of selling weapons to criminal groups within the country.
Clarifying the situation, Buba pointed out that arms entering Nigeria could be traced back to the regional instability.
He stated, "When we talk about proliferation of arms, first you have to look at what happened in Libya years ago and in the Sahel.
"Now, this gave the opportunity for arms to get into the wrong hands and then filtered into our country, which worsened the issue of insurgency and terrorism."
He further added that another major way terrorists had been acquiring weapons was through direct attacks on security agencies.
"The textbook tells you that part of the ways insurgents and terrorists get arms is to attack security forces and take arms from them. This is a textbook, meaning that it is proven all over the world.
“But what we have done is that in every such instance, we have made the terrorists pay a greater price than we have been forced to pay in such circumstances,” he said.