Man Jailed for Abducting Son Flees UK After Mistaken Prison Release

A man imprisoned for abducting his five-year-old son may have left the UK in the three days it took prison staff to notify police of his mistaken release from custody, the High Court heard.

Ifedayo Adeyeye was freed from HMP Pentonville in Islington, north London, on April 21. He had been jailed for contempt of court over the abduction of Laurys N'Djosse Adeyeye.

Prison staff released the 58-year-old despite a court order the previous day for him to serve a 12-month sentence. He was also due for extradition to France after completing it.

Police said they were using all powers at their disposal to track and re-arrest him.

At a hearing on Monday, Mr Justice Hayden said Adeyeye strolled around the London area after his release. He had a very nice dinner and quite a lot of drink at a local pub, then transferred thousands of pounds to others from a bank account.

Adeyeye may have traveled to Spain the next day. Prison staff did not contact the Metropolitan Police until the afternoon of April 24.

"The public is entitled to expect far better than this," Mr Justice Hayden said.

Last June, the same judge ruled that Adeyeye, a dual British-Nigerian national, abducted Laurys from his mother, Claire N'Djosse, in France. He took the boy to Nigeria via the UK.

News of Adeyeye's release follows the mistaken freeing in October of a former asylum seeker from HMP Chelmsford. That man had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.

Ministry of Justice data published last month showed 179 inmates wrongly released between April 2025 and March 2026.

The ministry said it was working with police to recapture Adeyeye. It is investing up to £82 million ($104 million) to reduce accidental releases. "We inherited a prison system in crisis after years of underinvestment, which has resulted in unacceptable rises in release errors," the ministry added.