lawyers that he needed a full panel to hear the petition but the outsourced judges would not travel there until either May or November.

The Gambia relies on foreign judges to staff its courts due to a lack of trained professionals in the tiny country.

The legal case was adjourned to Monday, but Fagbele warned the petitioners that they should not expect anything different.

"We can only hear this matter when we have a full bench of the Supreme Court," Fagbele said.

His comments came as leaders from West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, pushed back from Wednesday to Friday a mediation mission in Banjul, the capital of Gambia.

Nigeria said the delay was at the "insistence" of Jammeh.

'Significant incentive'

Maggie Dwyer, of the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, says thepowers behind them can do".

The West African bloc has previously said it has a military force on standby if Jammeh refuses to cede power when his mandate expires, with Nigeria's foreign minister saying on Monday the use of force remained an option if there was no movement in the situation.

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"The president is insisting that there'll be no inauguration until the court decides on his case. But the other camp is busy preparing for the inauguration," a Banjul-based analyst told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity.



"So, on January 19, Barrow's camp will go out and President Jammeh will attempt to stop them. That's where the problem will be and that's why the role of ECOWAS will be crucial."

The court's