A Nigerian inmate, Ola Abimbola, has escaped from a UK prison and remains missing nearly a month later.
Authorities say he walked out of HMP Ford in West Sussex on October 16 unnoticed.
A Nigerian man identified as Ola Abimbola, who is serving a 21-year prison sentence for kidnapping, has escaped from a UK jail and has remained missing for almost a month.
According to Mail Online, the 36-year-old inmate walked out of HMP Ford, an open prison in West Sussex, on October 16, and has not been seen since. Abimbola was convicted of kidnapping, grievous bodily harm, and possession of an offensive weapon in public.
Sussex Police released a CCTV image of Abimbola after his disappearance but have yet to locate him. The police confirmed that a joint investigation with other agencies is ongoing to find him.
Abimbola’s escape makes him the second foreign national on the run in recent weeks. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian sex offender, has also been missing since he was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29. Another Wandsworth inmate, William “Billy” Smith, 35, was also wrongly released but later returned to the prison after handing himself in.
Mark Drury, from the Prison Governors’ Association, raised concern over the rising number of inmates escaping from open prisons. He said the problem has worsened due to prison overcrowding, as inmates who would not have been considered suitable for open facilities a few years ago are now being sent there, which increases the risk to the public.
Reacting to the series of incidents, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed anger and frustration, calling the wrongful releases “intolerable.” He, however, defended Justice Secretary David Lammy, who has faced criticism over the handling of prison management.
When addressing the issue, Mr Lammy clarified that the most recent release happened before new security measures were introduced. He said:
“We have found out that the release that has caused concern this week was actually before I introduced those checks just a few weeks ago following the release of Kebatu, and the other prisoner was a court mistake, not, in fact, a prison mistake.”
Mr Lammy further noted that his office is working closely with justice officials to prevent such errors from happening again.
As of now, Ola Abimbola remains at large, and Sussex Police have urged anyone with useful information about his whereabouts to come forward.
