Any other day, the banking institution would be hailed as one of the most secure establishments on the planet. After all, this is where funds and assets are kept. But in an age where heists are becoming increasingly common, not to mention, popular bank treasuries are gradually becoming as exposed to uncertainty as every other place.

Ask First City Monument Bank (FCMB) which reportedly lost ₦900 million to one of such heists.

Social media is still agog with the reports of the money heist at FCMB that led to the disappearance of ₦900 million of customer’s funds. The general attitude to the alleged heist is one of sobriety at the fact that a banking institution can be so easily conned and almost a billion Naira essentially walked away from customers’ bank accounts with no one being the wiser.

The heist allegedly took place in March of 2018 and involved a seven-member syndicate. The members, who are suspected to be Gideon Oluwatimileyin, Abiodun Aina, Samuel Adenitiri, Oluwasegun Daliu, Olaitan Ajibola Sheu, Moyosore Suleiman and Adeyinka Akinjin, supposedly used a combination of tactical and technical skills to whisk away the almost-a-billion-Naira sum.

From the reports so far, the suspects found a way to hack into the FCMB database and that granted them access to employee workflows and customer details. Thus, they reportedly modified these workflows and the data programs to increase the limits assigned to customers. This allowed them to make unauthorised transfers without being subjected to the daily transfer limits. Interestingly, the target cities were Lagos, Akure and Abuja, and about ₦300 million was conveniently pinched from customer bank accounts in these cities.

The Ikeja Special Offences Court is in charge of the case and recently adjourned it to September 14 after which the suspects will be cross-examined again and perhaps the case will be put to rest. Whether this will also translate to the recovery of the stolen funds remains a subject of speculation.

In the meantime, FCMB is walking on eggshells as its customers become increasingly nervous.