Nyiragongo volcano threatens ∼1.5 million inhabitants of Goma (DR Congo) and Gisenyi (Rwanda) cities and people living in the surrounding villages. In 2002, the volcano produced lava flows which invaded Goma and destroyed the economic district of the city, forced a mass exodus of the population and caused the loss of several lives. Nyiragongo volcanic activity is therefore closely followed by the inhabitants, and any news related to increased activity agitates people in the area, especially those in Goma. Here, we report a short time series of soil temperature and carbon dioxide degassing for four locations, and plume sulphur dioxide fluxes preceding and following the opening of a new vent inside the main Nyiragongo crater on February 29, 2016. The observed sudden and unexpected changes in Nyiragongo activity raised the fear of a new volcanic eruption and led to panic in Goma and the surroundings, inducing some people to leaving the city. We use the dataset and field observations before and after the opening of the new vent, in conjunction with published information about Nyiragongo’s eruptive mechanism and of the volcano’s plumbing system geometry (mainly the crater), to show that the new vent was fed by magma intruded from the lava lake or the upper conduit.