A British-Nigerian man, Ifedayo Adeyeye, who was serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom over the abduction of his son, has reportedly escaped after being mistakenly released from custody.
The development emerged during court proceedings on Monday, where it was revealed that officials at HMP Pentonville failed to notify police authorities immediately after the error, allowing Adeyeye several days before a nationwide search was launched by Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard.
According to a report by The Telegraph UK on Tuesday, a judge had previously 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.
The child, who was born in France, had reportedly lived with his mother since birth.
The court heard that the alleged abduction occurred on July 27, 2024, marking the first occasion the boy spent the night with his father.
After allegedly failing to return the child in line with a UK court order, Adeyeye was arrested upon returning to Britain and sentenced to six months imprisonment in January for contempt of court.
He later received an additional 12-month jail term on April 20 after reportedly refusing to comply with directives facilitating the child’s return to his mother.
However, the court was informed that he was mistakenly freed from prison the following day after information regarding the new sentence was not properly communicated to officials responsible for inmate releases.
At a hearing held on May 1, the court criticised what it described as a serious delay and lack of urgency by prison authorities following the mistaken release.
The judge observed that the situation could likely have been avoided had the police been informed immediately.
“If the police had been contacted immediately, this could perhaps, almost certainly perhaps, have been prevented. The public is entitled to expect far better than this,” the judge stated.
During Monday’s hearing, the court was told investigators believed Adeyeye may have travelled to Spain shortly after regaining freedom and was thought to have left the UK on April 22.
In a statement presented before the court, the Metropolitan Police said authorities recognised the gravity of the situation and the distress caused to both the child and his mother.
“We are using the powers at our disposal to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry to locate and arrest [Adeyeye] and will continue to do so diligently and expeditiously,” the police stated.
The Telegraph UK added that the incident formed part of a wider problem within the prison system, citing Ministry of Justice figures showing that 179 inmates were mistakenly released between April 2025 and March 2026.
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