Nigeria, July 20 -- The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sentenced two suspected Ansaru commanders to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to 32 terrorism-related charges.

The convicts, Abubakar Abba (also known as Abu Bara'a) and Mahmud Usman (also known as Isah Adam and Mahmud), were prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS) on behalf of the federal government.

Judge Emeka Nwite handed down the verdict after the convicts, who were captured last year by Nigerian security forces, changed their earlier "not guilty" to "guilty" on Monday.

The judge sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31. He also imposed 20 years' imprisonment on each of the remaining counts and ordered that the prison terms should ru...