Nigeria, July 21 -- The Department of State Services, DSS, says it will appeal the life imprisonment handed down to two convicted Ansaru terrorist commanders by a Federal High Court in Abuja, insisting the sentence does not reflect the gravity of their crimes.

The court had sentenced Mahmud Usman, alias Abu Bara'a, the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, alias Mahmud al-Nigeri, to life imprisonment after both men pleaded guilty to 32 terrorism-related charges.

However, according to a senior DSS official, the Service will seek the maximum penalty under the law.

The official argued that the convicts were central to the kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, where abductors allegedly demanded their release...