A British-Nigerian man jailed in the United Kingdom for abducting his five-year-old son remains on the run after prison authorities mistakenly released him, in a case a judge has described as a major institutional failure.
Ifedayo Adedapo Kolawoe Adeyeye was freed from HMP Pentonville on April 21, 2026, despite having an additional one-year sentence to serve before his planned extradition to France. The error was only discovered two days later, prompting an urgent manhunt.
Delivering judgment on May 1, Justice Hayden criticized prison officials for what he called an “alarming lack of urgency,” questioning whether authorities fully understood the gravity of the situation.
Adeyeye had abducted his son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, from the child’s mother, Claire N’Djosse, in July 2024 during the boy’s first overnight visit with him. The court previously ruled that he transported the child from France to Nigeria through the UK in a carefully planned and deceptive operation.
