Nigerian father who kidnapped own son mistakenly released from UK prison

Glow FM

Official Update

May 06, 2026 Updated Jul 12, 2026 2 min read 17 views 0 shares

A Nigerian father, Ifedayo Adedapo Kolawoe Adeyeye jailed for abducting his young son is on the run after being mistakenly released from a UK prison, despite having more time left to serve. Adeyeye was freed from HMP Pentonville in London on April 21, even though he had an additional 12-month sentence to serve and was due for extradition to France.

Prison officials only realised the mistake two days later, prompting criticism from the court over the delayed response. Last year, a High Court judge ruled that Adeyeye had abducted his son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, from his mother in France in July 2024 and taken him to Nigeria. The court described the case as one “in the most serious class of cases.

” The child’s mother, Claire N’Djosse, has not seen him in nearly two years. Adeyeye was initially jailed for six months in January for contempt of court after failing to return the boy. On April 20, he was handed a further 12-month sentence for additional offences, but was mistakenly released the following day because the second sentence was not properly recorded.

Lawyers for Ms N’Djosse told the court there was a “two-day gap” before an alert was issued to stop him leaving the UK. A judge later condemned the delay, citing an “alarming lack of urgency” from prison authorities.

Allowing the identities of Adeyeye and his son to be made public in a bid to locate them, the judge showed “the state has failed” and warned he was “not even sure if the police have any impression of the seriousness” of the case.

He described Adeyeye as a “dangerous threat to his son’s physical and emotional welfare” who had been “entirely dishonest”, adding: “Adeyeye’s detention in custody is the best, perhaps the only, hope of reunification of this boy with his mother. ” Highlighting the broader concern.: “When the state fails in the way that it has done here, there is a public interest in that being put in the public domain.

” Police showed they were alerted on April 24 and are carrying out urgent efforts to locate Adeyeye and return him to custody.