President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday congratulated the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, on his 75th birthday on December 25.

Tinubu commended Ganduje for his leadership, dedication, and contributions to the development of Kano State and Nigeria, Mr Bayo Onanuga, his spokesman, said in a Wednesday statement.

The President acknowledged Ganduje’s exemplary stewardship as National Chairman, which had led to electoral victories.

He noted that Ganduje and his team’s efforts continued to strengthen and unify the party, driving it toward national development goals.

Expressing gratitude for Ganduje’s policy suggestions, support and dedication, Tinubu encouraged him to continue his work with the same passion and commitment.

He highlighted Ganduje’s commitment to promoting constitutional democracy and his years of public service at various levels.

“President Tinubu recalls Ganduje’s dedication to public service, including his early role as one of the pioneer civil servants managing the affairs of the Federal Capital Territory and his subsequent work as commissioner in Kano State in the 1990s.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday condemned what he described as an inhumane attack from Russia, which launched over 170 missiles and drones on his war-torn country’s power grid on Christmas Day, killing an energy worker.

It was gathered that this was the 13th large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy system this year, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the power grid during winter.

Meanwhile, Russia said five people had died in Ukrainian strikes and a falling drone in the border region of Kursk and North Ossetia in the Caucasus.

Ukraine said its air force downed 58 out of 79 Russian-launched missiles. It did not, however, down the two Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles launched by Russia.

British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has also condemned the strikes.

“I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of President Zelensky, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin’s bloody and brutal war machine with no respite even at Christmas,” Starmer said.

Kyiv, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine said a Russian missile went through Moldovan and Romanian airspace but Romania said it detected no such violation while Moldova said it launched investigations.

“Unfortunately, there are some hits. As of now, there are blackouts in several regions,” Zelensky said.

Operatives of Katsina State Police Command have rescued no fewer than 10 kidnapped victims.

This was contained in a statement by the command’s spokesman, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, on Wednesday in Katsina.

Sadiq said that four of the rescued victims sustained gunshot wounds as a result of the bandits’ attack and were immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention.

He added that two of the victims died while receiving treatment, stressing that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects as investigation proceeds.

The police image maker recalled that on December 24th, 2024, at about 2030 hrs, some suspected bandits, armed with dangerous weapons and shooting sporadically, attacked a commercial vehicle at Kwanar Makera along the Katsina to Magama Jibia road in Jibia LGA, Katsina State, in an attempt to kidnap 10 occupants of the said vehicle.

According to him, upon receiving the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Jibia swiftly led a team of operatives to the scene, engaging the bandits in a gun duel, successfully foiled the kidnap attempt and rescued all the 10 victims.

The Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, CP Aliyu Abubakar Musa, while commending the officers, charged them to sustain the tempo.

He further urged members of the public with useful information on suspected criminal activities to report to the nearest police station for prompt and decisive action.