- UK Prison Blunder: British-Nigerian Jailed for Child Abduction Escapes After Mistaken Release
- The court later imposed an additional 12-month jail term on April 20 after he again failed to facilitate the child’s return to his mother
- Police added that efforts were ongoing to trace and arrest Adeyeye through all available investigative channels
A British-Nigerian man, Ifedayo Adeyeye, who was serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom for abducting his son, has reportedly escaped after being mistakenly released from custody.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the development came to light during a court hearing on Monday, where it was revealed that officials at HMP Pentonville failed to alert police immediately after the accidental release, allowing Adeyeye a three-day window before the Metropolitan Police launched a manhunt.
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According to a report by The Telegraph UK on Tuesday, a judge had earlier ruled in June that Adeyeye unlawfully took his son, Laurys Adeyeye, from the child’s mother, Claire N’Djosse, in France and transported him to Nigeria through the UK.
Laurys, who was born in France, had reportedly lived with his mother since birth. The court also heard that July 27, 2024, the date of the abduction, was the first occasion the child spent the night with his father.
Adeyeye was arrested upon his return to the UK after failing to comply with a court order directing him to return the child. He was subsequently sentenced to six months imprisonment in January for contempt of court.
The court later imposed an additional 12-month jail term on April 20 after he again failed to facilitate the child’s return to his mother.
However, prison authorities reportedly released him the next day in error after information relating to the new sentence was not communicated to the officials responsible for authorising inmate releases.
The court, during an earlier hearing on May 1, criticised prison authorities over what it described as an “alarming lack of urgency” in responding to the mistake.
The judge noted that the escape could likely have been prevented if police had been informed immediately after the wrongful release.
At Monday’s hearing, the court was informed that Adeyeye may have fled to Spain shortly after regaining freedom and is believed to have left the UK on April 22.
The Metropolitan Police, reacting to the development, said it recognised the seriousness of the matter and the emotional impact on both the child and his mother.
Police added that efforts were ongoing to trace and arrest Adeyeye through all available investigative channels.
The Telegraph UK also reported that the incident forms part of a broader trend of prison administration failures, with Ministry of Justice figures showing that 179 inmates were mistakenly released between April 2025 and March 2026.
The report further referenced a similar case involving another Nigerian-born convict, Ola Abimbola, who reportedly escaped from HMP Ford in October last year while serving a 21-year sentence for kidnapping. At the time, Sussex Police said attempts to locate him had not yielded results.
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