THE VENEZUELA Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) has condemned what it describes as a “criminal act of imperialist aggression” by the United States against Venezuela and raising grave concerns for the safety of President Nicolás Maduro.
The statement, signed by a coalition of Nigerian activists, including Gerald O. Katchy of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Dimeji Macaulay of the Anti-Fascist Movement, Blessing Yusuf of the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria, and Abiodun Emmanuel Fayemi of the African Farmers and Agricultural Practitioners, marks one of the most vehement reactions from Nigeria to the escalating crisis in Latin America.
VSCN frames the military action not as an isolated event, but as the latest chapter in a long history of U.S. interventionism.
“The alarming uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and safety of President Nicolás Maduro following these attacks underscores the reckless and lawless nature of this aggression,” VSCN declared, adding: “Targeting a sovereign state and its leadership through military force is not diplomacy – it is terrorism at the level of states.”
The group explicitly rejected potential U.S. justifications centred on democracy or human rights. “This attack is not about ‘democracy’ or ‘human rights.’ It is about oil, control, and punishing a people who refuse to bow to imperial dictates, the statement asserted, drawing parallels to U.S. interventions in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, which it said resulted in “only death, destruction, chaos, and permanent instability.”
Drawing from Nigeria’s and Africa’s historical experiences, VSCN described the conflict as part of a familiar global struggle. “As Nigerians and Africans, we recognize this playbook. We have lived through colonialism, proxy wars, and foreign interference disguised as ‘humanitarian intervention,’” the statement read, affirming a firm stand with the people of Venezuela and their right to self-determination.
The VSCN presented a four-point demand asking for an immediate halt to all U.S. military attacks and threats; full and transparent information on the safety of President Maduro; the lifting of all international sanctions, described as “illegal sanctions and economic warfare”; and accountability for violations of international law and alleged crimes against humanity.
In a direct appeal to regional and international bodies, the statement called on the Nigerian government, the African Union, and the governments of the Global South to “break their silence and openly oppose this act of imperialist violence,” noting that “Silence in the face of aggression is complicity.”
The group, in a rallying cry, called for mass mobilisation, urging “workers, students, trade unions, youth movements, and revolutionary forces across Africa and the world to rise in solidarity with Venezuela.”
It also framed the situation as a frontline in a broader conflict, stating that “An injury to one oppressed nation is an injury to all.”
