A British-Nigerian father, Ifedayo Adeyeye, was released from prison on April 21, having been jailed for contempt of court over the abduction of his son. Prison staff initially failed to inform the police about his disappearance for three days, allowing him to walk around the London area before leaving the country.
Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am -A British-Nigerian father who was mistakenly released from prison after abducting his five-year-old son may have left the UK in the three days it took for prison staff to tell the police about his disappearance.
Ifedayo Adeyeye was released from HMP Pentonville in London on April 21, having been jailed for contempt of court over the abduction of Laurys N'Djosse Adeyeye. Prison staff allowed the 58-year-old to be released despite him being ordered to serve a 12-month sentence the day before Adeyeye was also due to be extradited to France upon his release.
The court heard that after being released, Adeyeye 'strolled about' the London area, where he had 'a very nice dinner' and had 'quite a lot of drink' at a local pub. He then transferred thousands of pounds to others from a bank account and is believed to have travelled to Spain the following day. During this time, the Metropolitan Police were unaware that Adeyeye was out of prison and weren't informed until prison staff notified them on April 24.
Mr Justice Hayden said at a hearing on Monday: '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. ' Ifedayo Adeyeye , who was jailed after abducting his son has been accidentally released from prison Last June, the same judge ruled that Adeyeye abducted Laurys from his mother Claire N'Djosse, in France and took him to Nigeria via the UK. The judge said Laurys was born in France and had lived with Ms N'Djosse since birth.
The day of the abduction on July 27, 2024, was the first time that Laurys had stayed overnight with his father, Mr Justice Hayden said. Ms N'Djosse has not seen her son since and has been trying to secure his return through the English courts. Mr Justice Hayden ruled in a legal first that the High Court had the power to order that Adeyeye return Laurys to his mother, even though the boy did not live in the UK.
After he failed to do so, Adeyeye was arrested upon his return to the UK and was jailed for six months in January for contempt of court. The day before he was due to be released, Adeyeye was jailed for a further 12 months on April 20 for further contempt of court offences. The following day, he was mistakenly released by prison staff.
The blunder became public knowledge earlier this month after Mr Justice Hayden allowed reporting of the issue at a hearing on May 1. The judge said the state has 'failed' and that there was an 'alarming lack of urgency' from prison staff. On Monday, the judge said that the abduction was 'an act of cruelty that even this court rarely sees' and described Adeyeye as 'arrogant and manipulative', and 'cold and calculated'. Pictured: Laurys N'Djosse Adeyeye.
His father Ifedayo Adeyeye abducted him from his mother in France and took him to Nigeria Police told the court that Adeyeye 'may have entered Spain' on April 22 and that authorities in the country had been notified. They added: 'The Metropolitan Police recognises both the seriousness of this matter and how traumatic the present situation must be for both and her son.
'We are using the powers at our disposal to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry to locate and arrest , and will continue to do so diligently and expeditiously. ' Read More British-Nigerian father who abducted son, 5, on the run after being mistakenly released from prison Police said that the prison service told them that Adeyeye was released due to a 'communication failure' with the court, which Mr Justice Hayden described as 'an entirely groundless suggestion'.
Chris Bryden, for Ms N'Djosse, said: 'Not only has the state failed her by the release of the father, but the state has failed her by not informing the Metropolitan Police promptly when quite clearly he could have been picked up.
' Adeyeye, an engineer, is also wanted by authorities in France over the incident. After Laurys was taken to Nigeria, a court in the African country gave parental responsibility for him to Adeyeye's relatives without Ms N'Djosse's consent. She has since been trying to secure her son's return, with Mr Justice Hayden describing the case as 'exceptional' and the abduction as involving 'complex, sophisticated, long-term planning and deception' by Adeyeye.
Mr Bryden previously told the court that after Adeyeye returned to HMP Pentonville to serve his second sentence, solicitors for his client received an email from prison staff which said they had 'released Mr Adeyeye in error' the following day. The staff said the blunder had occurred because his second jail term was 'not flagged up'. Prison staff said that they would contact police as Adeyeye was 'currently unlawfully at large', adding: 'We apologise for this error.
' Mr Bryden said the email did not explain how prison staff missed that Adeyeye was due to be extradited, with Mr Justice Hayden also questioning how prison officers present at Adeyeye's second sentencing hearing 'did not mention it to someone else when he got back'. Adeyeye is also wanted by authorities in France over the incident. Data published by the Ministry of Justice last month showed that 179 inmates were wrongly released between April 2025 and March 2026.
The Government responded to the crisis with promises to improve prison systems for releases. The issue was thrown into sharp focus after the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, who was jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Epping, Essex, which prompted a series of protests last year.
The MoJ has previously said that it was investing up to £82 million to drive down accidental releases, adding: 'We inherited a prison system in crisis after years of underinvestment, which has resulted in unacceptable rises in release in errors. '
British-Nigerian Adeyye Father Son Abduction Contempt Of Court Jail Release Network Issues Communication Failure
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