Manhunt for child abductor after he is accidentally released from prison

A man who was jailed for kidnapping his son was released accidentally due to a paperwork blunder.

Ifedayo Adeyeye, 57, was let out of prison following an error, leading to a manhunt as his whereabouts are unknown.

He was serving a prison sentence at Pentonville in north London for kidnapping his son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, five, during a visit before taking him to Nigeria.

Adeyeye was failed for a further 12 months on April 21, but he was released from HMP Pentonville the following day.

Prison staff didn’t realise their mistake until two days later, on April 23.

Adeyeye, a dual British-Nigerian national, had taken Laurys from his mother in France in July 2024.

Mr Justice Hayden described the abduction previously ‘in the most serious class of cases.’

Laurys’s mum, Claire N’Djosse, has not seen her son since the kidnapping.

The names and images of Adeyeye and Laurys were released by the High Court following a request from the boy’s mum in a bid to try to locate them.

Mr Justice Hayden warned that Adeyeye was a ‘dangerous threat to his son’s physical and emotional welfare.’

He said the dad had been ‘entirely dishonest’ and added: ‘Adeyeye’s detention in custody is the best, perhaps the only, hope of reunification of this boy with his mother.’

Laurys was taken from his mother on July 27, 2024, during his first overnight visit with his father, and flown to Nigeria via the UK.

Adeyeye, an engineer, was arrested after he returned to the UK and handed a six-month prison sentence after failing to return Laurys to his mother.

The case spanning multiple jurisdictions and rules became more complicated after a Nigerian court later gave parental responsibility for Laurys to two people, thought to be Adeyeye’s relatives, without Ms N’Djosse’s consent.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the force was informed by the Prison Service at around 1pm on April 24 that Adeyeye had been mistakenly released.

The force said that officers were ‘carrying out urgent inquiries in an effort to locate him and return him to custody.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘We understand the distress that releases in error can cause to victims and their families and are working with the police to recapture this individual.

‘We inherited a prison system in crisis after years of underinvestment which has resulted in unacceptable rises in releases in error.

‘That’s why this Government is taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it – investing up to £82m to digitise outdated paper-based systems, roll out biometrics and strengthen checks across the courts so we can drive down these mistakes and better protect the public.’

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