Britain is still reeling from the Oxfam sex-scandal that sent shockwaves through the international development sector; at least among those who were not involved in turning a myopic eye to sordid tales of exploiting the underage and vulnerable. And now it is the country’s military that may unwittingly be cast in the role of enabler. This is the concern that Amnesty International (AI) raises in its recent report, They betrayed us. Two years in the making, it casts the Nigerian military in the role of aggressor. What makes this particularly harrowing is that the latter is charged with rescuing the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who survived the brutal rule of armed Islamist group, Boko Haram. Yet instead, soldiers reportedly rape women and young girls; considering this fair exchange for humanitarian assistance such as food. Concerns over British involvement is linked to training and support of the Nigerian armed forces in the battle against Boko Haram. Thus the global human rights watchdog has called upon Downing Street to work with women’s rights activists on the ground to review the situation. If it turns out that the British military has trained any of the units involved in sexual abuse — AI wants to see all training suspended. Back in 2001, mass rape and sexual enslavement in time of war was recognised for the first time as a crime against humanity. This was one of the achievements to come out of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. Presiding Judge Florence Mumba of Zambia at the time described how three Bosnian Serb soldiers “thrived in the dark atmosphere of the dehumanisation of those believed to be enemies”. The same holds true for Nigeria’s men in uniform. After all, the AI report notes how women were beaten and labelled “Boko Haram wives” if they dared complain about their treatment. Thus Britain must do more than simply review who is worth of military training. It must push for a war crimes tribunal to be constituted at the earliest. For no other reason than this is the right thing to do. While war dehumanises everyone, it is women who time and again bear the biggest brunt of this. And sadly, this is not a problem restricted to Nigeria alone. It is just what happens when men take up arms against each other. Women become part of the so-called spoils of war. Progressives around the world have rightly raised their voices to support the #MeToo movement as women bravely continue to speak out against rape and gross sexual misconduct. Now is the time to come together and support AI as it seeks justice for the women of Nigeria who have been violently abused by both sides; quite literally. And all those who are caught up in man-made wars. * Published in Daily Times, May 27th 2018.