Mum ‘betrayed’ after dad who abducted son, 5, wrongly released in London prison blunder

The MoJ and police are ‘urgently working to recapture’ Ifedayo Adeyeye

The mum of a five-year-old boy abducted by his British father, who was wrongly released from a North London prison and is believed to have since left the UK, feels “betrayed” by prison authorities and says the blunder has meant she has “lost all hope”. Claire N’Djosse has not seen her son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, for almost two years after he was abducted in France by his dad Ifedayo Adeyeye in July 2024, with Laurys taken to Nigeria via the UK.

She has since sought to have Laurys returned to her care through the High Court in London, with Adeyeye sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court after failing to return Laurys to her. But the court heard earlier this month that Adeyeye, a 58-year-old dual British-Nigerian national, was wrongly released from HMP Pentonville, on the Caledonian Road in Islington, on April 21 and may have travelled to Spain in the three days it took prison staff to notify police.

Police are continuing to search for Adeyeye, with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) saying that it understood the distress the mistaken release had caused. Speaking in French and translated by a Press Association reporter, Ms N’Djosse said she was “lost” without her son and that her “life stopped” when Laurys was abducted, leaving her feeling that she was “going to die”.

The 46-year-old continued that Adeyeye’s imprisonment had given her a “glimmer of hope” that Laurys would be returned, but that his release meant “my life stopped again”. She said: “It’s my child who’s my hope. My life has stopped; I can’t do anything if I don’t have my child. My child is my reason to live.”

She continued: “Although it was difficult, I told myself, ‘I’m going to live in hope. Now that (Adeyeye) is in the justice system’s hands, whatever happens, I will have my child’. I tried to have the strength.”

She continued: “Now that Adeyeye is gone again, I have lost all hope of seeing my child again. I am upset. I don’t know how I’m going to keep going.”

Referring to Pentonville prison, Ms N’Djosse said she “felt betrayed where I believed him to be the most secure” and called for an investigation into Adeyeye’s release, adding she wanted “justice for this injustice”. She said: “The UK Government must see that it is not OK. I am a victim, I am unfortunately a victim, and it’s very serious.”

In a ruling last June, Mr Justice Hayden said Laurys was born in France and had lived with his mother since birth, but was abducted on July 27, 2024 during his first overnight stay with his father. A Nigerian court later gave parental responsibility for him to two people, believed to be Adeyeye’s relatives, without Ms N’Djosse’s consent.

In a legal first, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that the High Court had the power to order that Adeyeye return Laurys to his mother, even though the boy did not live in the UK. The judge said the abduction was “an act of cruelty that even this court rarely sees” and described Adeyeye as a “dangerous threat to his son’s physical and emotional welfare”.

Adeyeye was arrested upon returning to the UK and, in January, was first sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court after failing to return Laurys. He was sentenced to a further 12 months on April 20 but was wrongly released the following day, despite also being due to be extradited to France upon completion of his sentence.

A hearing on May 11 was told that Adeyeye is believed to have travelled to Spain on April 22, but prison staff did not tell police about his release until April 24. Mr Justice Hayden said the public was “entitled to expect far better” and that the state had “failed”, adding there was an “alarming lack of urgency” from prison staff.

Ms N’Djosse, who lives in south-east France, said she did not criticise the English courts and that she had been “on the right path to get my child back”, but that this was “wrecked” by Adeyeye’s release. She continued that Laurys was being “manipulated like a puppet” and urged anyone with information related to Adeyeye’s whereabouts, including his family, to come forward.

She said: “My child wants to come back to see his mum. My child does not deserve all this. Why is my child being punished?”

She continued: “I am a lost mum. Without my child, I don’t have a life. I want to find my child. I beg you to hear my screams, I beg you, those who are already parents, those who aren’t parents yet, I beg you.”

Data published by the MoJ last month showed that 179 inmates were wrongly released between April 2025 and March 2026. It is understood that a review into Adeyeye’s release is ongoing, with a spokesperson for the department stating that it had accepted 33 recommendations from an independent review into accidental releases across the prison system.

They said: “We completely understand the distress that this release in error has caused to Claire N’Djosse, and our thoughts remain with her and her family. We are urgently working with the police to recapture this individual.

“The Government inherited a prison system in crisis after years of underinvestment, which has resulted in unacceptable rises in release in errors. That’s why we’re investing up to £82 million to digitise outdated paper-based systems, roll out biometrics and strengthen checks so we can better protect the public.”

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