About Yima Sen
Lived 1951 – 2020 (aged 69). Yima Sen was a Nigerian human rights defender, known for Bring Back Our Girls.
John Yima Sen, OON (12 February 1951 – 6 October 2020) was a Tiv Nigerian intellectual and political activist. He was deeply involved in the political movements that challenged the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military dictatorship. He was the Secretary General of Campaign for Democracy (CD) and an active member of the Democratic Alternative that forced General Babangida out of power after his unpopular annulment of the 12 June 1993 Nigerian presidential election. He was also a member of the Olusola Saraki led Northern Union and a frontline participant of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign.
In the Fourth Nigerian Republic, he was Special Adviser on Research, policy and Documentation to vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
He also served as Secretary-General of the Middle Belt Forum and was Director-General of Northern Elders Forum. He was a notable figure in the agitation for minority rights who sought the advancement of the communities in the Middle Belt Region and was involved in many organizations aimed at the resolution of issues in a bid to engender and promote peaceful co-existence.
However, while reacting to issues in the Nigerian polity in 2018, such as President Muhammadu Buhari's recurring medical leave, the executive-legislature faceoff and the power tussle in his home state, Benue, he is quoted to have said, "the alarm has been sounded that Nigeria cannot make it without a revolutionary exit. The country has attained a degree of rot and decay that cannot be managed without a revolutionary exit."
He studied Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In his practice of mass communication, he once served as information Adviser at the United Nations Development Programme in Nairobi, Kenya and was a coordinating consultant at the International Foundation for Education and Self Help. He was a senior academic of Mass Communications at the Baze University in Abuja.
On 12 June 2025, Yima received the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger.
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Important facts
People in Yima Sen's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Yima Sen's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Yima Sen?
Nigerian intellectual and political activist
When was Yima Sen born?
Yima Sen was born on 12 February 1951 in Benue State.
When did Yima Sen die?
Yima Sen died on 6 October 2020.
What was Yima Sen's occupation?
Yima Sen was a human rights defender.
What was Yima Sen known for?
Yima Sen was known for Bring Back Our Girls.
What nationality was Yima Sen?
Yima Sen was Nigerian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Yima Sen. https://biography.guide/yima-sen/
MLA: "Yima Sen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/yima-sen/.
Chicago: "Yima Sen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/yima-sen/.
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