In what appeared to be a carefully planned cyber-theft attempt, a man posing as a regular customer gained entry into the FCMB branch located at Secretariat yesterday, only to disappear from view moments later—straight into the bank’s ceiling.
According to bank staff, the incident began quietly during working hours on Monday when the suspect, dressed like a customer, walked into the branch without raising suspicion. Instead of heading to the customer service area, he made a beeline for the restroom and locked himself inside. What nobody knew at the time was that he wasn’t coming out through the door.
“The guy climbed up into the ceiling from the toilet,” one staff member recounted, still shaken from the discovery. “He stayed there the whole day, waiting for all of us to close and leave.”
By nightfall, with the bank empty and the lights out, the intruder dropped down from the ceiling and attempted to access several systems within the bank. It’s believed he tampered with the computers and possibly tried to gain internal network access.
To buy himself time or avoid detection, the suspect allegedly locked the main office door from the inside. However, his stealth began to unravel by the next morning.
When FCMB employees resumed duty on Tuesday, they were puzzled to find the office still locked from within. After several failed attempts to open it, they forced the door open—only to discover signs of intrusion. One of the staff looked up and noticed something unusual in the ceiling.
“There was a movement above. When we checked properly, he was still hiding in the ceiling. That’s when we raised the alarm,” said another staff member.
More bizarrely, upon powering on their systems, staff observed a strange message on their computers:
“Restarting, click OK to accept.”
This raised further suspicion that the intruder had attempted to install malware or launch a remote-access program, though details are still being confirmed by digital forensic experts. Security sources say the message could be linked to unauthorized software execution or a tampered startup process.
The suspect was eventually apprehended by law enforcement, though details of his identity and motive remain under investigation. It’s unclear whether he was acting alone or as part of a wider cybercrime ring targeting financial institutions.
Cybersecurity experts have often warned of increasing cases where criminals use physical intrusion to aid digital breaches, especially in countries where internal system protections are still developing.
“This case is a classic example of low-tech meets high-tech crime,” one security analyst commented. “Hiding in a ceiling overnight to tamper with sensitive systems shows a frightening level of commitment and knowledge.”
FCMB has not yet released an official statement but is believed to be conducting an internal audit while cooperating with police and cybersecurity officials.
As the investigation continues, this incident stands as a stark reminder: In today’s world, cybercrime doesn’t always start with a keyboard—it might just begin in the ceiling.
