Fifteen years ago, I remember Professor Akin Oyebode of the Faculty of Law University of Lagos sharing copies of the UN Charter with us, insisting that all students of International Law and Diplomacy must chew and digest the Charter.
Professor Oyebode who himself knew the Charter like the back of his hand referenced the Charter with ease.
UN Charter is the document that binds every state member of the United Nations to their rights and obligations.
This weekend, I am certain many of my colleagues would be shocked reading about the brazen violation of the letter and the spirit of this important document.
President Donald Trump literally ordered the arrest of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and airlifted him to the American soil for prosecution.
It was an act reminiscent of the 1989 extraction of Manuel Antonio Noriega of Panama by the former President H. W Bush.
President Trump action was a clear violation of Article 2 [1 &7 ] of The UN Charter that recognizes the principle of state sovereignty.
His action can also be interpreted as aggression against a sovereign state under international law.
Article 2(4) specifically prohibits the use of force by Member States against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state.
In so far as the US is still a member of the United Nations, it is bound by the rules and regulations of the UN, pacta sunt servanda.
Therefore, the action of the United States president is condemnable and reprehensible.
Mr. Trump is gradually upending the world order and returning the global community to the era of ‘might is right’.
Many of us thought we have left that savagery in the dustbin of history.
Here are possible chain reactions that may follow President Trump’s action.
China could use this episode to increase diplomatic pressure and military action to prevent Taiwan independence moves and alienate U.S. support.
Similarly, Russia could contrast this U.S. action with its own framing of the Ukraine conflict, arguing that Western powers such as the US also violate international law despite the global condemnation of Russia invasion of Ukraine, a clear breach of the UN Charter.
And if tomorrow, South Africa decides to breathe down on Lesotho. ESwatini or Zimbabwe, and Nigeria decides to mount aggression against its neighbors like Benin, Togo, Niger and Chad, it is all going to be a fair game.
This is the pathway that Trump America maybe leading the world to. And this must be stopped immediately.
The UN Secretary-General must rally all
other state and regional powers and warn the US against taking this dangerous pathway to perdition.
Mr Trump’s action clearly lacks legal basis under the International Law. QED.
Ajibola Amzat
Jan 5, 2026
