Nigeria, Nov. 5 -- As United States President Donald Trump threatens to cut aid to Nigeria and order military strikes over what he calls a "Christian genocide," the consequence may not be about diplomacy or doctrine, but about the people who would suffer if his threat becomes reality.

From the North-east to the North-central, where insurgency, banditry and communal violence already entangle ethnicity, religion and survival, residents who are predominantly Christians or Muslims risk becoming collateral victims of a foreign campaign driven more by geopolitics or policy missteps.

In his latest outburst, Mr Trump accused Nigeria of "allowing the slaughter of Christians," vowing to stop all US aid and possibly go in "guns-a-blazing" to wipe ...