UK manhunt for Nigerian father who took son to Nigeria after early release
UK authorities are hunting for Ifedayo Adeyeye, a Nigerian-British man who abducted his four-year-old son Laurys from France to Nigeria in July 2024 during a court‑ordered overnight visit. Adeyeye violated a UK High Court Return Order, was sentenced to six months for contempt, and released in April 2026 after serving that term. While in prison he was found in further breach and given an extra 12‑month sentence, but prison officials at HMP Pentonville were not notified in time, so he was released unlawfully.
The child remains in Nigeria with relatives, while his Cameroonian mother Claire N’Djosse is devastated. The case highlights a legal gap: Nigeria is not a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, making international recovery mechanisms difficult. The UK court invoked its inherent jurisdiction based on Laurys’ British nationality, ordering publicity of the father and child’s images to aid the search.
If you have any information about Adeyeye’s whereabouts or the child’s location, contact UK police or the Nigerian Embassy in London. The manhunt underscores the need for awareness of international parental abduction risks and may prompt discussion on whether Nigeria should accede to the Hague Convention to better protect children in cross‑border disputes.