Yima Sen

John Yima Sen, OON, was a Nigerian intellectual and radical political activist known for his leadership of pro-democracy movements opposing military rule. He died on 6 October 2020, aged 69, in Abuja.

Sen was born on 12 February 1951 in Benue State.

He studied Mass Communications at the University of Lagos, with further study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

During Nigeria's Second Republic, Sen served as a communications assistant to Senate President Chuba Okadigbo, as Special Adviser on Political Affairs to President Shehu Shagari, and as Director of Information under Governor Aper Aku's administration in Benue State. He later served as Special Adviser on Research, Policy and Documentation to Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and as an Information Adviser at the UN Development Programme in Nairobi. Until his death, he was a senior academic in Mass Communications at Baze University, Abuja.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Sen became Secretary-General of the Campaign for Democracy and an active member of the Democratic Alternative movement opposing General Ibrahim Babangida's military dictatorship, and was a moving force behind the National Conference strategy of resistance to military rule. He later served as Secretary-General of the Middle Belt Forum and Director-General of the Northern Elders Forum.

A frontline participant in the "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign. Posthumously awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on 12 June 2025.

• 12 February 1951 — Born in Benue State
• Early 1980s — Special Adviser on Political Affairs to President Shehu Shagari
• Late 1980s — Secretary-General, Campaign for Democracy
• 6 October 2020 — Died in Abuja
• 12 June 2025 — Posthumously awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)

• Photo: AgentX21, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Dr_John_Yima_Sen.jpg).