In a stadium nicknamed La Catedral, the bells tolled for Barry Ferguson and his Rangers team. For the manager there was a last blast in Europe, an expression of anger post-match about two penalties he felt Rangers should have had in Bilbao, a plaintive cry on the night their season effectively ended. Luck was not on their side in Spain. Decisions went against them. Injuries befell them. The blatant lack of quality in their starting line-up and on their bench came back to bite them. They tried to deal with their own shortcomings one more time, but they couldn't. Athletic wouldn't let them. Ferguson has emptied himself in this job, but there are not enough hours in his day or days in his week that could fix the problems he inherited. His level best was never going to be good enough. Not his fault. It's just the way of things when a club makes bad decision after bad decision over the course of several years. It wasn't so much Ferguson's words about penalties not given that hit home, though. It was his almost resigned tone that stood out in the aftermath. He gave off a feeling that whatever hope he had of keeping this job after regime change has now gone. There was a comment about maybe returning to an ambassadorial role, a wistful remark about just wanting "my club to get back to where it should be." But where should Rangers be? With all their mis-steps, on and off the pitch, the obvious truth is they are exactly where they deserve to be. At least domestically. In Europe they have over-achieved, but Europe is not their most important testing ground, it's not the place where they must excel and make up ground on their rivals. Those improvements, vast in scale, are a lot closer to home than Bilbao or Istanbul. Hibernation season is coming to an end, but how Rangers folk must wish they could curl up and go to sleep until such time as the new owners have poured through the door at Ibrox. At least they have that to look forward to. A new beginning, they hope. Before then they have the purgatory of five meaningless league games to endure. They have another Celtic title win to try to block out and a probable Scottish Cup win by their greatest rivals to avoid. The chances are they'll have to find a way of turning a deaf ear to their enemy's treble yell. Some of them might sooner go to prison for a short stretch than watch all of this unfold in the coming weeks. The every thought of Rangers fans now will be about the takeover and what it brings. Nothing else matters. Nothing. Ferguson understated it when he said that a lot of work needs to be done. It's a mountain. A veritable Everest. A new management team, a new recruitment infrastructure, and a bunch of new players need to put together. Think Ange Postecoglou's first season at Celtic and you get the picture. There is little hope of success with a squad of players that have failed so dismally in domestic football, no sense in waiting and hoping for a miracle. Everybody knows the definition of madness. The challenge, though, is brutal. The prospective new owners are serious people and they'll need to be. Practically every new recruit needs to work. There can't be another Danilo - £6m spent on a fee, millions more in wages and three more years left on his contract. There can't be another Oscar Cortes, a lesser-spotted winger of questionable ability, who is at Rangers on loan with what is understood to be a must-buy clause said to be in the region of £3-4m. There can't be another Nedim Bajrami; another Sam Lammers; another Ben Davies. Around £11m was splurged on those three alone. For £11m, or less, Celtic brought in Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O'Riley, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston. All major successes and all trophy-laden, with two of them subsequently sold for a combined £35m. Rangers are only playing around at the foothills of the mountain they must climb. The financial waste at the club spreads far and wide. Ferguson was powerless to do anything about that. Philippe Clement did as decent a job as anybody could have done in the circumstances, but he fell short, too. Their European adventures have been extraordinary and freakish, but they only served to paper over the cracks. Revolution is required now. The optimistic note is that they have, all going well, a new and impressive outfit about to take hold of the place. From what we know, they are not the kind of soft touches that have roamed around the Ibrox corridors of power for long enough, which is just as well, for setting Rangers on the right course is going to be a herculean pursuit.

Woodhall Finance House has announced a N1.5bn Creative Sector Fund aimed at supporting export-ready creative enterprises and SMEs across fashion, film, music, beauty, and digital arts. In a statement on Friday from the British High Commission Communications Office, it was revealed that the fund was launched at the unveiling of The Creative Currency Podcast, held at the Lagos residence of the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Jonny Baxter. Elaborating on the sector fund, Woodhall Capital Founder and President, Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu, said, “Creativity is no longer an abstract asset; it is a bankable commodity and must be treated as such by policymakers, investors, and financiers. Nobody can tell the Nigerian story like we Nigerians, and nobody is coming to save us. If we want to see real change, we must build our own table, design our own systems, and finance our own narratives. “Our N1.5bn Creative Sector Fund is our commitment to doing just that: backing bold ideas, scaling creative businesses, and turning cultural capital into economic power.” On the podcast, which is an initiative designed to serve as both a media platform and an economic catalyst for Nigeria’s creative economy, Baxter emphasised the UK’s commitment to creative collaboration, saying, “The UK is proud to support Nigeria’s creative economy through long-term partnerships that combine innovation, investment, and cultural exchange. “Through the Creative Industries Technical Working Group – a direct outcome of the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership – and platforms such as The Creative Currency Podcast, we are deepening our commitment to creative collaboration. This is about creating real opportunities, building lasting partnerships, and empowering the next generation of African talent to thrive on the global stage.” Building on the momentum, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose, delivered a keynote address that underscored Lagos’s position as Africa’s creative capital. The Creative Currency Podcast was birthed by Woodhall Finance House, in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade, Polaris Bank, and the Lagos State Government. The launch brought together senior policymakers, investors, development finance institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and leading creatives from across Africa. “Positioned at the nexus of finance, culture, and diplomacy, The Creative Currency Podcast aims to drive investment, strengthen cross-border partnerships, and reinforce the UK-Nigeria creative network as a catalyst for economic transformation,” the statement added.

Four Federal High Courts have convicted and sentenced a total of 44 terrorists to prison terms ranging from 10 to 30 years with hard labour. The convictions, according to the Head, Department of Strategic Communication, National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser, Abu Michael, were secured during proceedings held at the courts between July 9 and 11, 2025. Michael, in a statement on Friday, said the 44 convicts were among 54 suspects arraigned in the latest phase of the trials, adding that the remaining 10 cases were adjourned for further hearing. The convictions come on the heels of Phase 6, which saw 200 individuals sentenced to death, life imprisonment, and several other terms for atrocities ranging from mass killings and abductions to attacks on religious and civilian institutions. With the conclusion of Phase 7, Nigeria has now secured 785 terrorism-related convictions. The statement partly read, “Nigeria has continued to bolster its criminal justice system, securing convictions for 44 out of 54 individuals recently arraigned in Phase 7 of the Kainji Detention Facility Terrorism Trial. The remaining 10 cases were adjourned during proceedings held across four courts, presided over by four Federal High Court justices. “The verdicts delivered from the trials resulted in prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years, all to be served with hard labour, underscoring the severity of the crimes and the Nigerian justice system’s resolve to uphold accountability and deter future transgressions. “ On Wednesday, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu who was represented by the Coordinator of the NCTC, Maj Gen Adamu Laka, reiterated the government’s commitment to pursuing justice through due process. Also speaking at the opening, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, reaffirmed the commitment of the Ministry of Justice to prosecute terrorism cases transparently and decisively. “The convictions secured in this phase send a strong message to those who fund or support terrorism: the law will catch up with you, and justice will be served,” said Babadoko.

Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, ordered the final forfeiture of two properties, several cars and cash to the Federal Government of Nigeria.  According to a statement posted on the official X account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, the Judge gave the order, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC, through its lawyer, H. U. Kofarnaisa. In an affidavit deposed by the investigating officer of the EFCC, Sulaiman Muhammad told the court that the commission received a petition from a first-generation bank which complained of a monumental fraud allegedly committed on the account of some of its customers, which totalled N1,403,343,400. The statement said, “The properties are one unit of a three-bedroom bungalow in Abuja; No. 8, Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa FCT, Abuja; one Mercedes Benz C300; one gray-coloured BMW 3 Series SUV, and one Black coloured Range Rover 2012. “Others are three Toyota Hilux of 2008, 2010 and 2014 models; one black coloured BMW SURXI 2016 and two Range Rover vehicles. Other items forfeited included a cash sum of N326,400,000 and another $480,000. “Justice Osiagor had earlier ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.” Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Friday, Kofarnaisa told the court that the application was supported by an affidavit from Muhammad. In the affidavit, Muhammad stated that the bank subsequently submitted an addendum to the petition dated July 24, 2023, wherein the total sum of N2,007,000,000 was fraudulently stolen from the customers of the bank. According to him, the bank discovered that some customers’ accounts were debited in a manner other than the pattern familiar to the bank, which led to an internal investigation by the audit unit of the bank. He further stated that the investigation revealed that Atus Homes Limited fraudulently received a total sum of N681,200,000 from 126 customers’ accounts in different tranches. “An investigation also revealed that Fav Oil and Gas Limited fraudulently received a cumulative sum of N1,388,000,000 from 429 customers’ accounts in different tranches.  “That the total sum of N887,478,600.00 of the sum fraudulently stolen was transferred to various accounts in other banks. Kofarnaisa, thereafter, submitted that the said accounts warehousing the funds sought to be forfeited received inflows reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and are not proceeds of any legitimate business venture.  “She also told the court that the mastermind of this fraudulent crime had been charged before a Federal High Court and that ‘trial is ongoing.’ After listening to the EFCC counsel, Justice Osiagor held that he found merit in the argument of the applicant and ordered the final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the statement added.