A Nigerian man, Ola Abimbola, convicted of k+dn@pping and serving a 21-year sentence, has escaped from an open prison in Sussex, United Kingdom, sparking a widespread police search.
The 36-year-old, jailed for conspiracy to k+dnap, grievous b%dily harm, blackmail, and false imprisonment, reportedly walked out of HMP Ford around 8 a.m. on October 10 — barely a month after being transferred there.
He has been missing ever since. Abimbola’s transfer to the open prison, also known as a Category D facility, was made under new Labour government rules aimed at easing overcrowding in higher-security prisons.
The relaxed policy allows inmates to move to open conditions earlier in their sentences, even if they are not yet close to release. Under the old system, Abimbola would not have qualified for transfer for another six years.
Open prisons have minimal security and are meant to help low-risk prisoners reintegrate into society a move that has now come under scrutiny following his disappearance.
Sussex Police have launched a manhunt, urging the public not to approach the fugitive and to report any information by calling 999. Authorities admit that efforts to track him down have so far been unsuccessful.
The escape has intensified political pressure on Justice Secretary David Lammy, already facing criticism after the mistaken release of two foreign s+x offenders and a British fr@udster. Opposition figures say the justice system is “in chaos,” blaming government policy changes for endangering the public.
Mark Drury of the Prison Governors’ Association said the rise in absconders from open prisons shows a troubling trend, noting that many prisoners now housed in such facilities “would not have been considered suitable two or three years ago.”
In response, the Ministry of Justice defended the system, insisting that all transfers follow “strict risk assessments” and that any offender breaching the rules can be “immediately returned to closed conditions.”
