Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday described the resolution by the Nigerian Senate to probe allegations raised in its report against the military as a welcome development and a sign of hope for affected victims seeking justice.

In a statement by its Director in Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, the organization knocked the Nigerian military for keeping mum over the countless allegations of rape and other war crimes rather than taking concrete actions to address the issues raised in the report.

The statement further accused the military of falling back on its usual hostile tactics of denials and threats, which they said were aimed at discrediting their work.

“The Nigerian military is increasingly resorting to threats, intimidation and smears to discredit Amnesty International’s work documenting the human rights violations it has committed,” the statement said.

On May 24, 2018, the organization released a report titled ‘They Betrayed Us’, which documented alleged sexual violence against starving women and girls detained in satellite Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps under the control of Nigerian soldiers and militia.