T he Central Bank of Nigeria has cancelled the operating licences of 46 microfinance banks across the country, effective Tuesday, July 1, 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen the financial sector and protect depositors.  The directive was approved by CBN Governor Mr. Olayemi Cardoso. The apex bank said the affected institutions failed to meet basic regulatory requirements needed to function as licensed financial entities.  According to the CBN , the banks were shut down for financial instability, non-compliance, prolonged inactivity, failure to commence operations within 12 months of approval, and capital deficiencies caused by losses. The action was taken under Sections 12 and 13 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.  Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the decision reflects the CBN’s commitment to building a sound and resilient banking system. She added that the regulator will continue to take necessary supervisor...

R &B star Chris Brown has been told to Pay $13m to a housekeeper who was badly hurt by his guard dog, a California jury decided this week. The case took more than five years to settle.  The Guardian UK reported that the claim came from Maria Avila, who was attacked in 2020 at Brown’s home in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She said the dog, a Caucasian shepherd named Hades, bit her arm and face. The injuries were serious. She needed many stitches and skin grafts from her stomach, and she still deals with nerve damage and trauma that made work hard.  Brown was at home at the time. He told the Van Nuys court he locked the dog in a kennel after it attacked, and a guard called an ambulance. He said he left before it arrived to avoid press attention, and that he kept guard dogs because of stalkers. He admitted he was at fault but said he had warned Avila and her sister to stay inside. The Avilas said that never happened, and they disagreed with him on how bad the injuries were.  Th...

P resident Bola Tinubu has explained why he signed off on sweeping changes to the National Youth Service Corps, saying the aim is to give graduates practical skills that will prepare them for jobs, business and nation-building.  In a statement posted on his X account on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, Tinubu said the Federal Executive Council approved the reforms on Monday, calling it the most significant review of the scheme since 1973. He linked it to his inauguration pledge to create real opportunities for young people and place women and youths at the centre of his administration.  While noting that the NYSC has helped promote national unity for 53 years, the President said Nigeria’s current realities require a new direction. He added that youths make up almost 70 percent of the population and described them as “the engine of growth, not a burden to manage.”  Under the new plan, orientation will now last six weeks with focus on civic duty, leadership, values, career readine...

  H ollywood director Carl Rinsch is heading to prison after taking $11m, about £8.2m, from Netflix for a sci-fi series he never finished.  According to The Independent UK, the 48-year-old was sentenced on Monday, 29 June 2026, to two and a half years in jail starting in September. He was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering last December.  Netflix paid Rinsch $11m in March 2020 to make a 12-episode show called White Horse, later renamed Conquest. Prosecutors said he moved the money into his own accounts within weeks. Court records show he lost most of it on risky stock trades, then put the rest into crypto, made a profit, and spent it on cars, antiques, and luxury furniture.  In court, Rinsch said mental health problems were behind his actions. He told the judge he failed to see “the danger of the state I was in,” apologised, and admitted “real harm was caused.”  The judge, Jed S. Rakoff, said mental health may explain some of it, but it did not excuse...