A video has surfaced showing a man dressed like a bandit in a forest. He is cooking. He holds an RPG launcher. He uses it to stir a pot of tuwo or semo over a fire. The weapon serves as a giant turning stick. The clip has been shared widely online.
Nigeria’s northwest has been ravaged by banditry for over a decade. Armed groups operate from forest camps in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states. They fund operations through kidnappings. SBM Intelligence recorded 7,825 abductions between July 2025 and June 2026. Ransom payments reached ₦7.78 billion. The groups have acquired heavy weapons, including RPGs, through smuggling networks and captured stockpiles. They film themselves for propaganda. The videos are used to intimidate communities and attract recruits.
The video shows the man using the launcher as a cooking utensil. He stirs the pot casually. The scene is absurd. A weapon designed to destroy armoured vehicles is being used to mix dinner. The clip drew laughter online. It also drew alarm. Viewers called it insane audacity. Some questioned whether it was staged. Others said it reflected the normalisation of heavy weapons in the region.
The propaganda angle is real. Bandit groups release videos to demonstrate power. Showing an RPG as a household item signals control. It says the weapon is not special. It says violence is ordinary. That message is chilling.
The safety angle is also real. An RPG launcher is not a spoon. A live round could detonate. The man may not know whether the launcher is loaded. If it were, the fire would kill him. The video may be staged. It may be real. Either way, it normalises something dangerous.
Winners: The bandit, who gains internet fame. Propagandists, who gain a viral clip. Social media, which gains engagement. Losers: Communities in the northwest, who live under bandit rule. Nigerians who see violence normalised. The man himself, if the weapon was live. The state, whose authority is mocked.
Bottom Line: A bandit stirred tuwo with an RPG launcher. The video is funny. The context is not. Northwest Nigeria is awash with heavy weapons. When a launcher becomes a kitchen tool, the violence has become ordinary. The clip is propaganda dressed as comedy.