(CNN) -- For weeks, Nigerian officials said that more than 200 Nigerian school girls would finally be freed. When it fell apart, there was nothing but devastation.
Over and over, sources told CNN's Isha Sesay (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/sesay.isha.html') that negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, the group that snatched the girls in April, were getting somewhere. The journalist was assured that the Islamist terror group had agreed to a cease-fire, and as part of that deal, the girls would be able to return to their families.
For once, Sesay allowed herself to feel optimistic.
A native of Sierra Leone, the journalist was personally drawn to the tragedy that inspired the global campaign "Bring Back Our Girls."
"Those girls were poor, from a remote part of Nigeria," in Chibok in Borno State, Sesay said.
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Police in riot gear block a route in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday, October 14, during a demonstration calling on the Nigerian government to rescue schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. In April, more than 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeastern Nigeria, officials and witnesses said.
Women in Abuja hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 14, one month after the schoolgirls were kidnapped.
People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
Catholic faithful in Abuja take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls on Sunday, May 11.
Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Abuja on May 11.
Catholics nuns pray in Abuja on May 11.
A woman attends a demonstration Tuesday, May 6, that called for the Nigerian government to rescue the girls.
Community leader Hosea Sambido speaks during a May 6 rally in Abuja.
Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's top military spokesman, speaks to people at a demonstration May 6 in Abuja.
Women march Monday, May 5, in Chibok, Nigeria.
People rally in Lagos on Thursday, May 1.
Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1.
Protesters take part in a "million-woman march" Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja.
Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30.
A woman cries out during a demonstration in Abuja on Tuesday, April 29, along with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped.
A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22.
Mothers weep April 22 during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok.
Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21.
Borno state Gov. Kashim Shettima, center, visits the girls' school in Chibok on April 21.
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls
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(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/141017105053-01-nigeria-protests-1017-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls
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A video of Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be the leader of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, is shown in September 2013. Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group waging a campaign of violence in northern Nigeria. The group's ambitions range from the stricter enforcement of Sharia law to the total destruction of the Nigerian state and its government. Click through to see recent bloody incidents in this strife-torn West African nation:
Bodies lie in the streets in Maiduguri, Nigeria, after religious clashes on July 31, 2009. Boko Haram exploded onto the national scene in 2009 when 700 people were killed in widespread clashes across the north between the group and the Nigerian military.
An official displays burned equipment inside a prison in Bauchi, Nigeria, on September 9, 2010, after the prison was attacked by suspected members of Boko Haram two days earlier. About 720 inmates escaped during the prison break, and police suspect the prison was attacked because it was holding 80 members of the sect.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, second from left, stands on the back of a vehicle after being sworn-in as President during a ceremony in the capital of Abuja on May 29, 2011. In December 2011, Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of the country afflicted by violence from Boko Haram.
Rescue workers help a wounded person from a U.N. building in Abuja, Nigeria, on August 26, 2011. The building was rocked by a bomb that killed at least 23 people, leaving others trapped and causing heavy damage. Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for the attack in which a Honda packed with explosives rammed into the U.N. building, shattering windows and setting the place afire.
A photo taken on November 6, 2011, shows state police headquarters burned by a series of attacks that targeted police stations, mosques and churches in Damaturu, Nigeria, on November 4, 2011. Attackers left scores injured -- probably more than 100 -- in a three-hour rampage, and 63 people died.
Men look at the wreckage of a car after a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church outside Abuja on December 25, 2011. A string of bombs struck churches in five Nigerian cities, leaving dozens dead and wounded on the Christmas holiday, authorities and witnesses said. Boko Haram's targets included police outposts and churches as well as places associated with "Western influence."
A paramedic helps a young man as he leaves a hospital in the northern Nigerian city of Kano on January 21, 2012. A spate of bombings and shootings left more than 200 people dead in Nigeria's second-largest city. Three days later, a joint military task force in Nigeria arrested 158 suspected members of Boko Haram.
A photo taken on June 18, 2012, shows a car vandalized after three church bombings and retaliatory attacks in northern Nigeria killed at least 50 people and injured more than 130 others, the Nigerian Red Cross Society said.
A French family kidnapped February 19, 2013, in northern Cameroon is released after two months in captivity in Nigeria. The family of four children, their parents and an uncle were kidnapped in Waza National Park in northern Cameroon, situated near the border with Nigeria. One of the captive men read a statement demanding that Nigeria and Cameroon free jailed members of Boko Haram.
A soldier stands in front of a damaged wall and the body of a prison officer killed during an attack on a prison in the northeastern Nigerian town of Bama on May 7, 2013. Two soldiers were killed during coordinated attacks on multiple targets. Nigeria's military said more than 100 Boko Haram militants carried out the attack.
A deserted student hostel is shown on August 6, 2013, after gunmen stormed a school in Yobe state, killing 20 students and a teacher, state media reported.
A photograph made available by the Nigerian army on August 13, 2013, shows improvised explosive devices, bomb-making materials and detonators seized from a Boko Haram hideout. Gunmen attacked a mosque in Nigeria with automatic weapons on August 11, 2013, killing at least 44 people.
Nigerian students from Jos Polytechnic walk on campus in Jos, Nigeria, on September 30, 2013. Under the cover of darkness, gunmen approached a college dormitory in a rural Nigerian town and opened fire on students who were sleeping. At least 40 students died, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Soldiers stand outside the 79 Composite Group Air Force base that was attacked earlier in Maiduguri on December 2. Hundreds of Boko Haram militants attacked an Air Force base and a military checkpoint, according to government officials.
Catholic priest Georges Vandenbeusch speaks to reporters outside Paris after his release on January 1. Vandenbeusch was snatched from his parish church in Cameroon on November 13. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for kidnapping the priest.
A man receives treatment at Konduga specialist hospital after a gruesome attack on January 26. It was suspected that Boko Haram militants opened fire on a village market and torched homes in the village of Kawuri, killing at least 45 people.
Police officers stand guard in front of the burned remains of homes and businesses in the village of Konduga on February 12. Suspected Boko Haram militants torched houses in the village, killing at least 23 people, according to the governor of Borno state on February 11.
Yobe state Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam, left, looks at the bodies of students inside an ambulance outside a mosque in Damaturu. At least 29 students died in an attack on a federal college in Buni Yadi, near the capital of Yobe state, Nigeria's military said on February 26. Authorities suspect Boko Haram carried out the assault in which several buildings were also torched.
Rescue workers try to put out a fire after a bomb exploded at the busiest roundabout near the crowded Monday Market in Maiduguri on July 1.
Police in riot gear block a route in Abuja on October 14, during a demonstration calling on the Nigerian government to rescue schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. In April, more than 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeastern Nigeria, officials and witnesses said.
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis
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(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130929203511-boko-haram-screengrab-abubakar-shekau-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Boko Haram: Nigeria's crisis The area has been long ignored, and the people there have gotten by on very little, she said.
The girls were kidnapped while they were at school.
"They were just trying to get an education," Sesay said. "But for the grace of God, I come from an educated family and my life has been different. It's the power of education that has allowed me to become a CNN anchor. These girls were in school to change their circumstances."
Sesay got on a plane to Nigeria days ago as sources told her that the girls' freedom was imminent.
When she landed she started to hear more from journalists who have extensively covered Boko Haram (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/31/opinion/kew-boko-haram-talks/'), and from those who knew how the terror group operated (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/10/31/opinion/kew-boko-haram-talks/').
They were suspicious, and doubted that the government was really in talks with the terrorists.
There were other red flags. No one from Boko said anything about the supposed cease-fire. In fact, members remained active in northeastern Nigeria, and actually carried out more attacks and child abductions (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/world/africa/boko-haram-abductions/').
Sesay and her CNN crew kept hoping. Maybe it was simple banditry in the north, she reasoned. It was hard to bear the idea that the girls wouldn't be freed.
"We wanted to believe," she said. "We gave (Nigerian officials) the benefit of the doubt, I suppose."
A crushing video
On November 1, a video appeared of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau saying no cease-fire been reached (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/01/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-denies-deal/index.html'). The girls were not going to be released, he said, laughing.
They had converted to Islam and were married off.
"They are," he said, "in the marital homes."
It was a crushing blow.
"It was like he was saying, 'This is done,' " Sesay recalled.
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After more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted in Nigeria by Islamist terror group Boko Haram, the social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls took over sites like Twitter and Facebook. Twenty days after the girls vanished, Alasholuyi Kehinde, photographed here, joined the social media effort too.
Kehinde, who works in marketing in Lagos, Nigeria, says he started taking the photos because the story really resonated with him.
"I am a father of three kids, two girls and a boy. I just can't imagine the trauma I would feel if one of my girls was missing for a day," he said.
The 40-year-old captured these photos in his office in Lagos.
Weeks after the April 14 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian girls, worried families and supporters have blamed the government for not doing enough to find them.
The social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls garnered supported from regular people to celebrities.
People like First Lady Michelle Obama and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai participated in the campaign asking for the missing girls to be released.
A deal came Thursday night after a month of negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. There was an agreement to release the schoolgirls.
"I never knew I would still be carrying the Bring Back Our Girls placards," said Kehinde.
"Fingers are crossed that hopefully and finally the girls would be reunited with their families," Kehinde said.
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
A man who never gave up hope
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(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/141018115948-irpt-missing-chikbok-girls-day-20-horizontal-gallery.jpg) A man who never gave up hope
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Weeks after the April 14 kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls, worried families and supporters blamed the government for not doing enough to find them. Their cries spread worldwide on social media under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. From regular people to celebrities, here are some of the people participating in the movement.
First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted this picture of herself holding a #BringBackOurGirls sign in support of the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
"We hear it like it's not happening in our region so it doesn't concern us but that's not right," says Milliscent Maduagwu from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. "This fight on terrorism is not just the Commander in Chief's and the army, but ours as well!"
"These girls could have been my sisters or worst still my daughter," says Emmanuel Oleabhiele from Doha, Qatar. "My daughter is 6 months old and I fear for her future as a Nigerian."
Malala Yousafzai, the world's most famous advocate for girls' right to education, says that "girls in Nigeria are my sisters." This photo was posted to the @MalalaFund Twitter account on May 6.
Ify Elueze of Bonn, Germany, asks, "How can the world sit and watch?! It is no longer just the responsibility of the Nigerian government, now it is your responsibility and mine!"
British supermodel Cara Delevingne posted this photo on her Instagram account saying, "Everyone help and raise awareness #regram #repost or make your own!"
"Government should stop playing politics with our sister," says Nigerian Dauda Kaks.
American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys posted this photo on her Instagram account with this message: "I'm so saddened and enraged that these girls are not back where they belong! Safe at home and at school! Safe with their families! Safe to become the incredible leaders and powerful voices they are yet to be."
"You are most likely thinking to yourself, 'What's the point in posting another picture or status to speak about this issue?,"' says Uchenna Mildred Udeh from St. John, New Brunswick. "I can tell you this: it will. Do not underestimate the power of your voice. We have to make this personal."
British singer-songwriter Leona Lewis took a stand to #BringBackOurGirls on her Twitter account on May 7.
"I think it's high time we all start praying for Nigeria and stop complaining," says Lotanna Ugwu from Abuja, Nigeria. "It's only God that can touch the hearts of those who kidnapped the young girls."
Singer Steven Tyler posted this image on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts alonth with the hashtag #RealMenDontBuyGirls.
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
'Bring Back Our Girls!'
Bring Back Our Girls
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(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140508135831-bbog-corrie-mwende-irpt-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Bring Back Our Girls After the video was released, Nigeria's government asserted that negotiations had happened (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/11/01/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-denies-deal/'), and Shekau had gone back on promises he'd made during those talks.
"We've heard about the video, and we can say the road to peace is bumpy -- and you cannot expect otherwise," a spokesman said. "Nigeria has been fighting a war, and wars don't end overnight."
In late October, Human Rights Watch released a report on Boko Haram violence (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://features.hrw.org/features/HRW_2014_report/Those_Terrible_Weeks_in_Their_Camp/index.html') against women and girls in Nigeria. The group interviewed kidnap victims including a dozen of the Chibok girls who escaped. The girls had been imprisoned in eight Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, the report said.
The women and girls who refused to convert to Islam were physically and intercourseually assaulted, HRW said, and some were forced to marry their captors.
Men and boys who were abducted, the report says, were given the choice of joining the group or being murdered.
What gives Boko Haram its strength? (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/05/11/opinion/jacobson-boko-haram-strength/')
'How could they do this?'
Before she left Nigeria, Sesay called Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian government official and one of the leaders of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign.
"She sounded sick with grief when she answered the phone," Sesay recalled. "I said ... 'Are you OK?' which is ... so stupid. She was just -- her voice was hoarse with pain. She said, 'How could they do this?' "
Ezekwesili said she wasn't sure if the parents of the girls would recover.
Sesay said she is committed to continue to tell the girls' stories. Each is a person. Each deserves to live out their unique passions and paths.
"We have to keep asking questions," she said. "We have set expectations low in terms of getting meaningful answers. That can't continue."
Boko Haram -- the essence of terror (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/05/06/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-analysis/')
Source: CNN