Authorities in the United Kingdom have launched a nationwide search for a Nigerian-British man accused of abducting his young son from France and taking him to Nigeria, after he was mistakenly released from prison despite an extended jail sentence.
The man at the centre of the case, identified as Ifedayo Adeyeye, had originally been jailed for contempt of court after allegedly ignoring multiple court orders issued by the High Court of England and Wales directing him to return his son, Laurys, to his mother in France.
According to reports from UK court proceedings, the child was taken in July 2024 during what had been approved as the boy’s first overnight visit with his father following a custody arrangement ordered by a French court. However, after the agreed visitation period ended, the child was not returned to his mother, Claire N’Djosse, who had been raising him in France since birth.
Investigators later discovered that Adeyeye had allegedly moved the child from France into the UK before taking him onward to Nigeria without the mother’s consent. Court documents stated that the child was eventually left with relatives in Nigeria while the father reportedly returned to Britain, where he was later arrested.
The UK court initially sentenced him to six months in prison for breaching a return order connected to the international custody dispute. While serving that sentence at HMP Pentonville in London, Justice Hayden reportedly imposed an additional 12-month prison term after concluding that Adeyeye had continued to ignore court instructions aimed at reuniting the child with his mother.
However, prison authorities allegedly failed to properly process or flag the second sentence before the inmate’s scheduled release date. As a result, Adeyeye was freed from custody on April 21 before officials realised the mistake.
The error has now triggered an urgent manhunt by British police, who have declared him “unlawfully at large” and are attempting to track him down and return him to custody. Officials fear he may have fled the country again following the prison blunder.
During court proceedings, Justice Hayden reportedly described the situation as deeply distressing for the child, who is believed to still be in Nigeria away from both parents. The judge said the boy had grown up in France speaking French and now finds himself in an unfamiliar environment far removed from his normal life.
The court also criticised what it described as serious failures within the prison system that led to the accidental release. Lawyers representing the child’s mother reportedly told the court she had been left devastated by the development, especially as the father’s detention had been viewed as one of the few remaining ways to pressure compliance with the court’s orders.
The UK Ministry of Justice acknowledged the mistaken release and said efforts are ongoing to recapture the fugitive. Officials also disclosed plans to modernise prison record systems in a bid to reduce similar errors in future. More details about this story can be found on MSN report.
