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Ethno-religious conflict has become an essential characteristic of Nigerian federalism, especially after independence. The study investigates ethno-religious conflicts and its implications on Nigerian federalism. Relying on the triangulation of social identity theory and ethnic group conflict theory, data for the study were collected from secondary sources such as textbooks, journals, the internet, government publications, newspapers and magazines. While federalism promotes unity and preserves the diversities within a political entity, ethnoreligious conflict has militated the attainment of true federalism in the polity. The study argues that, there is an increasing frequency of ethno-religious conflicts in order to achieve the political objectives of the political gladiators. Findings reveal that ethno-religious conflict weakens the spirit of federalism and engenders sociopolitical instability. Ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria has led to discrimination of one ethnic or religious group against the other and has engendered suspicion and stifled cordial relationships among the diverse ethnic and religious groups. The study concludes that inter-ethnic rivalries have given rise to many ethnic militias such as the O’dua People Congress, the Bakassi Boys, the Egbesu Boys, the Ijaw Youth Congress, and the Igbo People Congress. Others include the Arewa Peoples Congress, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Ohanaeze N’digbo. Also, the spate of ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria since independence has claimed an estimated loss of over three million lives since independence. The study therefore recommends an overhauling of federalism to cater for the diversities of Nigerian society, education of the people by their leaders about the danger of the duo in national development, and government placing sanctions on the promoters of ethno-religious conflicts amongst others.