Hunt for Fugitive Father After Prison “Blunder of the Highest Order”

LONDON – A manhunt is underway across the United Kingdom for a dual British-Nigerian national after administrative failures at HMP Pentonville led to his accidental release. Ifedayo Adedapo Kolawole Adeyeye, an engineer who abducted his young son and fled to Nigeria, walked free from the North London prison on April 21—the very day he was meant to begin a fresh 12-month sentence.

​The 36-year-old was initially jailed in January for six months for contempt of court after refusing to return his son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, to the boy’s mother in France. On April 20, just 24 hours before his scheduled release, a High Court judge handed down an additional year-long sentence due to his continued defiance.

​However, despite prison officers escorting Adeyeye to the court hearing and back, the new warrant—delivered to the prison at 6:05 PM that evening—was never flagged in the system. Consequently, he was processed for release the following morning.

​A “Devastating” Error

​The mistake was not realized by prison authorities until April 23, two days after Adeyeye had vanished. The Metropolitan Police were not notified until the afternoon of April 24. 

​Mr. Justice Hayden, who has presided over the long-running family court battle, described the abduction as being in the “most serious class of cases,” involving “complex, sophisticated, and long-term planning.” He criticized the authorities’ response to the accidental release, noting an “alarming lack of urgency” in correcting a mistake that has left a mother in despair.

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​A Mother’s Two-Year Nightmare

​The child’s mother, Claire N’Djosse, hasn’t seen Laurys since July 2024, when Adeyeye took the then-three-year-old from France to Nigeria without permission. While a French court awarded Ms. N’Djosse sole custody in 2023, the boy remains in Nigeria, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

​Legal experts had viewed Adeyeye’s incarceration as the primary lever to force the child’s return. With the father now “unlawfully at large,” hopes for a swift reunion have been severely compromised.

​Official Apology

​HMP Pentonville staff issued a formal apology to Ms. N’Djosse’s legal team via email, admitting the second jail term was simply “not flagged up” before he was released.

​The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are carrying out “urgent inquiries” to locate Adeyeye. He was due to be extradited to France to face further criminal charges related to the abduction upon the completion of his UK sentence.

​Authorities are urging anyone with information on Ifedayo Adeyeye’s whereabouts to contact the police immediately.