Documents: Decisions of the July Conference of the LSSP (Revolutionary)

[p069] INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL NIGERIAN IMPRISONMENTS STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE 1964 has marked a major step forward for the working class in West Africa, because of the success of the Nigerian general strike and the beginning of independent working class politics in Nigeria. When these Nigerian workers won important wage concessions and defeated all attempts at victimisation after their general strike, they struck fear into the hearts of the bourgeois govern- ment, which is nothing more than a caretaker for British and United States capital invest- ments. At the end of the strike, 6,000 workers gave union leaders a mandate to form a new socialist workers’ party, and the government decided to act. Using the arrival in Nigeria of a British University research worker, Dr. Victor Allen, they manufactured a fantastic charge of sedition and ‘conspiracy’ for the overthrow of the government and arrested three prominent Nigerian trade union leaders: Sidi Kayam and Jonas Kioma- sekenagh Abam, port workers’ leaders, and Oleshengun Ade- bayo, teachers’ leader. During the trial, the police (whose head was a white South African) submitted as their main evidence to the prosecution an alleged statement of confession by Allen. Allen insisted that this con- fession was obtained by illegal pressure upon him, and _ the judge was forced to disallow it as evidence. Despite this complete collapse of the prosecution’s case, the judge found all four defendants guilty and sentenced them to one year’s hard labour each. While the prisoners were on bail during the trial police raided their homes at night, on one occasion § arresting and beating up a British visitor from Ghana, Mr. G. Jones. On this occasion the judge warned the police not to interfere with witnesses. In the statement containing the judge’s verdict there is not even mention of the specific acts which are supposed to constitute sedition and con- spiracy. The ‘plot? is pure fabrication. The International Committee of the Fourth International condemns this blatant use of the machinery of police and the law courts to suppress and imprison trade unionists, and calls for the maximum protest against the FOURTH INTERNATIONAL AUTUMN-WINTER 1964 FOURTH INTERNATIONAL sentences. The Nigerian government has distinguished itself by support- ing the mercenary armies and ‘rescue’ intervention of the im- perialists against the Congolese people. This exposes very clearly all those ‘left? social democrats who haye remained silent on the conspiracy trial, concerned about the good name of an ‘independent? African govern- ment. In Britain the Labour govern- ment has stated, through its Commonwealth Parliamentary Secretary, Bottomley, that it will not protest, since it is convinced that Allen had a fair trial. The Stalinist parties remain shame- fully silent on the question. Not a shred of proletarian internationalism remains in these traditional leaderships of the working class. Everywhere the organised workers, the youth movements and the trade unions of every country, must respond to the call for political and financial support for the four imprisoned men. International Committee of the Fourth International, 6.12.1964. 155

[p070] INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE FOURTH INTER? NIGERIAN IMPRISONMENTS STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE 1964 has marked a major step forward for the working class in West Africa, because of the success of the Nigerian general strike and the beginning of independent working class politics in Nigeria. When these Nigerian workers won important wage concessions and defeated all attempts at victimisation after their general strike, they struck fear into the hearts of the bourgeois govera- ment, which is nothing more than a caretaker for British and United States capital invest- ments. At the end of the strike, 6,000 workers gave union leaders a mandate to form a new socialist workers’ party, and the government decided to act. Using the arrival in Nigeria of a British University research worker, Dr. Victor Allen, they manufactured a fantastic charge of sedition and ‘conspiracy’ for the overthrow of the government and arrested three prominent Nigerian trade union leaders: Sidi Kayam and Jonas Kioma- sekenagh Abam, port workers’ leaders, and Oleshengun Ade- bayo, teachers’ leader. During the trial, the police (whose head was a white South African) submitted as their main evidence to the prosecution an alleged statement of confession by Allen. Allen insisted that this con- fession was obtained by illegal pressure upon him, and_ the judge was forced to disallow it as evidence. Despite this complete collapse of the prosecution’s case, the judge found all four defendants guilty and sentenced them to one year’s hard labour each. While the prisoners were on bail during the trial police raided their homes at night, on one occasion § arresting and beating up a British visitor from Ghana, Mr. G. Jones. On this occasion the judge warned the police not to interfere with witnesses. In the statement containing the judge’s verdict there is not even mention of the specific acts which are supposed to constitute sedition and con- spiracy. The ‘plot’? is pure fabrication. The International Committee of the Fourth International condemns this blatant use of the machinery of police and the law courts to suppress and imprison trade unionists, and calls for the maximum protest against the FOURTH INTERNATIONAL AUTUMN-WINTER 1964 FOURTH INTERNATIONAL sentences. The Nigerian government has distinguished itself by support- ing the mercenary armies and ‘rescue’ intervention of the im- perialists against the Congolese people. This exposes very clearly all those ‘left? social democrats who have remained silent on the conspiracy’ trial, concerned about the good name of an ‘independent? African govern- ment. In Britain the Labour govern- ment has stated, through its Commonwealth Parliamentary Secretary, Bottomley, that it will not protest, since it is convinced that Allen had a fair trial. The Stalinist parties remain shame- fully silent on the question. Not a shred of proletarian internationalism remains’ in these traditional leaderships of the working class. Everywhere the organised workers, the youth movements and the trade unions of every country, must respond to the call for political and financial support for the four imprisoned men. International Committee of the Fourth International, 6.12.1964. 155