Former Taraba State Governor Jolly Nyame and other inmates of the Kuje prison on Tuesday received an outreach which came to offer free haircuts for Christmas.
Over 300 inmates partook in the exercise.
The free haircut was offered by the National Association of Barbers and Salon Employers of Nigeria (NABSEN) on a Christmas visit to the facility.
The outreach was undertaken in collaboration with Fades and Bangs Global, an Abuja-based barber outfit, and the deputy ambassador of Venezuela, Maria Luna.
The inmates also received blankets, beverages and other items.
Mr Nyame, who did not require a haircut at the time, watched with excitement as his colleagues danced to the deafening music after the haircuts that saw some spotting hairstyles like ‘punk’, ‘Afro’, ‘Steve Wonder’ and ‘curls’.
The former governor who is serving a 14-year jail term lauded NABSEN for the kindness, describing it as touching.
“They (prison inmates), are very happy; they are looking so beautiful and radiant on Christmas day,’’ Nyame told the News Agency of Nigeria.
He said that the NABSEN initiative was “very excellent’’, adding that his fellow inmates would “always remember this show of concern.’’
“There is a rush for the service. Everyone wants to come out for the haircut. It is difficult to control them. There is a rumble inside the yard. I have never seen the inmates this happy since I came here,’’ he said.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of NABSEN Musa Mantu told the Prison Controller Innocent Onoja that the gesture was to “make the inmates look and feel good on Christmas day.’’
The excited prisoners danced gleefully to the music blaring from the haircut venue, with some of them happy to “listen to sweet music after a long while.’’
